Recipe(tried): Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins - Jan, Ohio Re: Fresh Blueberries

Hi again, Jan :-) You do not have to cook the blueberries before you use them for pancakes or muffins, (Or for fruit salads for that matter). What you do need to do is rinse them in a colander (or in the plastic container they came in since they are often now packed in a container with holes in them) under cold/cool water, drain them, then pick over them, discarding any that look shriveled or bad, also picking off and discarding any stems you find. Then put them on paper towels and gently dry them so they aren't covered with water that would dilute the recipe or make the end result soggy. For pancakes, just sprinkle a few (or several) raw blueberrries on top of each pancake after you have ladled the batter onto the griddle, before you turn the pancake. (Turn the pancake when you see bubbles appearing on the top, and the bottom looks golden.) I don't have a favorite recipe for pancakes so my advice is to type the word pancakes in the search box here at recipelink and begin trying different recipes, adding blueberries as suggested, until you find a favorite recipe. You can certainly use Bisquick or any other pancake mix to make blueberry pancakes as well. For muffins, just add raw blueberries to the recipe as called for in the recipe. They will cook as the muffin bakes. For these, I do have a favorite recipe that was posted here at recipelink, previuosly, Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins, below. Good luck, Jan!!

Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins
Recipe is from How to Bake, by Nick Malgieri, HarperCollins, 1995.

"It's cakelike and one of my favorites. Be sure to use paper muffin cups and grease the tops of the pan, as well." (Definitely do grease the top of your muffin pan. These will be big muffins!!)

8 tbsp (1 stick) soft unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling the tops of the muffins
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour (preferably bleached)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk or milk
1 pint blueberries, rinsed, drained and dried

One 12-cavity muffin pan with paper liners

1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

2. Cream the butter with the sugar and salt by hand or with an electric mixer until light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Mix the flour and baking powder together well and stir into the batter alternating with the buttermilk.

3. Crush a quarter of the berries and stir into the batter; fold in the remaining berries whole.

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan. (For this recipe, fill the muffin tin cavities to the top since there is enough batter for 12 big muffins. They will rise above the top of the tin and is the reason that you need to grease the top of the pan.) Sprinkle the tops with some sugar.

5. Bake the muffins about 30 minutes, until well risen and deep golden. Cool the muffins in the pan. (Depending on how hot your oven is, these could take a bit less time. You can check them with a toothpick. Just put the toothpick in the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean - no batter sticking to it, then your muffins are done.)