I decided to go with the Joy of Cooking recipe just for the basic-ness of it, instead of the one from the Culinary School of the Rockies (CSR). Just out of the oven, my initial impression was okay, but a bit bland. I was also not impressed with the performance of the muffin liners (never have used those before) and think I’ll stick to good old butter next time.

I brought the batch to work and solicited reviews. The muffins lingered a bit in the communal kitchen after sending an all-company email alert. However, I suspect that there may be a direct correlation between the rate of food disappearance and the amount of sugar contained in said food, but more research will have to be conducted to confirm this theory. Most of my co-workers seemed generally appreciative of home-cooked, free food, taking their portion and wandering back to their desks with a wave or smile of thanks. Of course, there is nothing like a request for constructive feedback on food to ferret out a food-critic aspirant. My okay-but-bland initial impression was affirmed along with a more detailed description of the crumb texture (decent), moistness (not enough, I felt compelled to slather with butter), and blueberry ratio (can’t have enough).

Mostly what I would expect from the Joy of Cooking, with all due respect. As I said earlier, a solid starting point or baseline in this case. For the record the recipe also states it should yield approximately 24 x 2 inch muffins. Now, I’m not sure if the photo below gives a good sense of scale, but I’d say 2 inches is about right and I got just about 14 muffins, yet could have made it an even dozen had I filled the cups a bit higher…

Blueberry Muffins: Recipe #2

The following evening, I used the CSR recipe from the bread techniques class I took many years ago. The ingredients alone indicated there should be major improvement on the crumb texture, moistness, and flavor. Plain yogurt would add moisture; lemon zest and a mixture of brown and regular sugar would add flavor. Using no muffin liners this time, the resulting size was a bit less petite, although I am of the mindset to acquire a large-muffin tin for the muffin-as-a-meal option.

The rate of muffin disappearance at the office seemed to be a bit quicker this time around and general consensus was that this recipe was an improvement over the prior. Nevertheless, I’m still seeking something a bit more… perhaps some tweaking for additional texture and heartiness. To be continued…

--- every cooking project should begin with proper prep ---

--- Recipe #1: Joy of Cooking ---

--- Recipe #2: CSR ---