Berry Muffins with Sour Cream

Sour cream is the best secret ingredient for so many desserts. Within cookies as well as coffee cakes, cheesecakes, pies and chocolate cakes, sour cream provides richness and pleasantly tangy flavor. The ingredient is especially beneficial with quick bread recipes, where sour cream’s acidity doubles as a flavor booster and crumb tenderizer for a moist, springy bite.

Now muffins are getting the special sour cream treatment too. Our berry muffins with sour cream benefit from the texture and flavor improvement that sour cream provides to quick breads. Bonus: The tartness from the blueberries and raspberries complements the sour cream for a bright, summery tray of muffins that no one will be able to resist.

Ingredients for Berry Muffins with Sour Cream

• All-purpose flour: Measure the flour properly so you’re not packing too much flour into the measuring cup. Doing so can cause the muffins to be dense and dry instead of tender and springy.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness. You may use brown sugar for a deeper, more caramelly flavor.
• Leavening agents: We want these muffins to rise nice and tall, so we use both baking powder and baking soda.
• Berries: We love using raspberries and/or blueberries in this muffin batter, although virtually any berry can work here. You can use fresh or frozen berries too! If using fresh, wash the berries well. If using frozen, do not thaw them. Minimally fold the frozen berries into the batter, as they will discolor the batter a bit.
• Eggs: Take the eggs out of the fridge 30 minutes before starting these sour cream berry muffins and lightly beat the eggs in a bowl. Use this time to prep your other ingredients and grease the muffin tins.
• Sour cream: Bring the sour cream to room temperature so the batter doesn’t become cold and seize the eggs and oil. When all the ingredients are at room temperature, the batter emulsifies better for beautiful sour cream raspberry muffins.
• Canola oil: Neutral-flavored canola oil adds even more fat and richness to the muffins and keeps the crumb tender for longer.
• Vanilla: Splash vanilla into the muffin batter for a hint of floral, delicate sweetness.

Directions

Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients with the blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the berries to the flour mixture and toss gently.

Editor’s Tip: This technique coats the berries in the flour mixture, preventing them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.

Step 2: Finish the batter

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, canola oil and vanilla. Stir the egg mixture into the flour-blueberry mixture just until everything is combined and moistened.

Editor’s Tip: One of our favorite tips for bakery-style muffins is letting the batter rest for one hour. This allows the flour to hydrate, creating a thicker batter, which makes taller muffins. Plus, resting allows the flavors to develop.

Step 3: Portion the batter

Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. A cookie scoop makes quick and consistent work of this task.

Step 4: Bake the muffins

Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Let the muffins cool at room temperature in their cups for five minutes. Carefully remove the muffins from the pan and onto a wire rack. Serve the muffins while they’re still warm (not hot!) from the oven.

Editor’s Tip: If you used frozen berries, you might need to bake the muffins a bit longer since the frozen berries cool down the batter. Use the recommended baking time first, and add any extra baking time you see fit.

Recipe Variations

• Include a touch of citrus: Lemon’s bright flavor is the perfect accompaniment to the sour cream and berries. To add lemon flavor to these sour cream berry muffins, substitute lemon yogurt for 1 cup sour cream and add 2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest with the vanilla.
• Finish with streusel: Streusel is a textural treat on muffins. To add streusel to your muffins, whisk together 3 tablespoons each of all-purpose flour and quick-cooking oats, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Cut in 2 tablespoons cold butter until crumbly. Sprinkle the streusel over the raspberry sour cream muffins before baking.
• Give them a crunchy sugar topping: Many bakery-style muffins are finished simply with a crunchy sugar topping, usually Demerara or turbinado sugar. Generously sprinkle one of these sugars on the muffins before baking.
• Add your favorite mix-ins: Feel free to include other mix-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, cinnamon, or other berries like strawberries or blackberries.

How to Store Berry Muffins with Sour Cream

To store sour cream berry muffins, allow them to cool completely to room temperature, then transfer them to an airtight container. Store them at room temperature for up to two days or in the fridge for up to five days.

Can you freeze berry muffins with sour cream?

Yes, you can freeze berry muffins with sour cream. Once the muffins have cooled completely to room temperature, stash them in an airtight container and store them in the freezer for up to two months. Thaw the muffins in the fridge overnight or on the counter for about an hour.

Berry Muffins with Sour Cream Tips

Can you bake berry muffins with sour cream in jumbo or mini muffin tins?

Yes, you can bake berry muffins with sour cream in jumbo or mini muffin tins. Keep in mind, though, that baking times will differ. Mini muffins will take much less time to bake, so toothpick-test them after 10 or 12 minutes. Jumbo muffins will take more time to bake than regular muffins, so toothpick-test them after 22 minutes.

Can you substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream in these berry muffins?

Yes, you can substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream in our berry muffins. Use full-fat, thick Greek yogurt for the richest, moistest muffins.

How do you prevent berries from sinking to the bottom of muffins?

To prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins, coat the berries in flour. To do this, add your berries to a bowl, then scoop 1 to 2 tablespoons of the recipe’s flour measurement into the bowl of berries and toss to coat. Do not use extra flour outside of the recipe’s flour measurement or you’ll add too much flour to the batter, making dense, dry muffins. Our sour cream berry muffins already use a version of this method to prevent the berries from sinking.