Blueberries, lemons and tarragon – oh my. I stumbled across this combination of flavors one day while I was feeling
Blueberry Lemon Muffin with Tarragon – yum yum:)
creative in the kitchen and looking for a wholesome but zesty way to start off my morning.
First, a word about tarragon: tarragon is my current favorite herb. It has a rich, almost licorice-like taste, and can be used in a variety of dishes, from pasta to meat dishes to muffins and cakes. And it definitely does the job of pulling these muffins together and giving them a sophisticated little twist.
Before we go any further, I have to admit something – as a general matter, I don’t really like muffins. Sad, right? Such a staple breakfast food, but until coming up with these, I just couldn’t quite get myself on board. They’re always too dry or too sugary or too boring (in the name of trying to be healthy, of course), and I just wasn’t about it. But I also thought that there had to be a way to rescue this classic breakfast food from its own. . . lack of inspiration. And indeed, there was.
I decided to go with a blueberry muffin, because that’s always seemed like the most classic of all the classic muffin recipes to me, and I’ve always wanted to like blueberry muffins. There’s just something about them – they make me think of cold, snowy mornings, cozy socks and roaring fires. (Which is interesting, considering that blueberries are actually a summer fruit, but never mind.) So, how best to jazz up a blueberry muffin?
I thought first about the batter – to have a good muffin, you’ve got to have a good base, right? I LOVE browned butter and put it in anything I possibly can, so – you guessed it – these muffins feature browned butter. Second, blueberry muffins are generally a breakfast food, and I really like to feel like I’m eating something with at least a bit of nutritional value for breakfast, so I decided to add some whole wheat flour to the batter as well. To make myself feel better about essentially eating an icing-less cupcake for breakfast.
Next question – what to mix in? Well, obviously blueberries. Lemon zest seemed like the clear next ingredient. To begin with, I love flavoring dishes with lemon. It’s a subtle flavor, but it has such a brightening and freshening effect on anything it’s added to. Always good for the first meal of the day. I could have stopped there, but I felt like these muffins needed a little something else – something to offset the zinginess of the blueberries and the lemon. I was rooting around in my fridge, looking for ideas, and aha! I noticed some tarragon, and that was that.
Between the nuttiness of the browned butter, the subtle and surprising touch of tarragon, and the brightness of the blueberries and the lemon zest, these muffins are anything but boring. Ready to give them a go? Here’s how:
Blueberry-Lemon Muffins with Tarragon
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 6 tbsp butter (browned and cooled)
- 1 large egg (lightly beaten)
- 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
Dry Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup dark or light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Spices
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Pinch of nutmeg
Fruit and Herbs
- 2 boxes blueberries
- 1 large lemon
- 1/2 cup tarragon (chopped)
Instructions
Prep
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter 12 muffin cups (or use non-stick baking spray.)
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Brown the butter. (See this recipe for more detailed instructions.) While the butter cools slightly, rinse the blueberries and set aside. Rinse and chop the tarragon and set aside.
Combine
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Whisk the egg with both sugars in a large bowl. Mix in the browned butter and then the yogurt.
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In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Zest the lemon into the same bowl and mix to combine.
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Once the zesting is complete, cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice of half the lemon into the bowl of wet ingredients. Stir to combine.
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Add the bowl of dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until everything is combined and the batter slightly lumpy. Fold in the blueberries and the tarragon.
Bake
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Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let rest in the pan for a couple of minutes, and then dig in!
Recipe Notes
- First, these muffins are very moist, and they contain fruit; because of that, I recommend refrigerating them if you still have leftovers after a day or so.
- Second, I have also used oat flour in the place of the whole-wheat flour and it works just as well, so if you have a different type of flour that you like using, feel free to substitute it in!