Tender, airy Blueberry Cinnamon Swirl Muffins are dotted with juicy blueberries. A sweet cinnamon layer in the center makes them extra special.
When I moved to Maine, I didn’t yet know the joys of wild blueberries that grow plentifully here. I’d grown up with — and picked each summer — high bush blueberries that were big, sweet globes. But the diminutive wild blueberries, only available frozen, seemed tart by comparison.
Interestingly, as I got to know Maine blueberries, I found the opposite to be true. High bush blueberries here are blander and not as sweet as the little wild blueberries I can buy in the summer at the farmers market.
How strange that everything I thought I knew about blueberries was challenged by where I was living.
These days, we eat many, many wild blueberries in the summer and skip the high bush berries. In the winter, we buy frozen berries — mostly from the farmers market — to cook with. Always the wild variety.
If I was back in Connecticut or New York though, I would surely embrace the sweet high bush berries of my youth though. Those were excellent there. I even used to freeze high bush blueberries for winter, because the local ones were better than the frozen stocks. I guess the same is true here, just with a different variety of the berry.
These Blueberry Cinnamon Swirl Muffins work with any frozen blueberries. But I do suggest wild blueberries for them, if you can find some. They are a lovely contrast to the sweet cinnamon layer.
Making these is a simple endeavor. Blueberry batter comes together easily in a single bowl. Then the muffin wrappers are filled about halfway with batter before being sprinkled with a cinnamon mixture. Continue filling the wrappers with batter and then top off with additional cinnamon mixture. Then bake.
These Blueberry Cinnamon Swirl Muffins are perfect for Saturday mornings. Enjoy them with a cup of coffee and your favorite book. But they are also a treat for weekday mornings — just grab and go.
Do you like high bush blueberries or wild blueberries better?
Blueberry Cinnamon Swirl Muffins
Tender, airy Blueberry Cinnamon Swirl Muffins are dotted with juicy blueberries. A sweet cinnamon layer in the center makes them extra special.
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
Cinnamon layer:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups in a muffin pan with liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and milk until well combined. Drizzle in the cooled butter a little at a time, whisking constantly, until combined. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to the bowl. Stir well until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the blueberries.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon layer ingredients.
- Add the batter to the muffin cups, filling them about ⅓ full. Divide half of the cinnamon mixture evenly among the muffin cups. Top with the remaining batter, dividing it evenly among the muffin cups, and then the remaining half of the cinnamon mixture.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out cleanly.
- Loosen the muffins from the pan with a knife. Enjoy, warm from the oven or cooled.