Buttermilk Muffin
intro
Tender, tangy golden-crusted buttermilk muffins with a soft, fluffy crumb. These lightly sweet, easy bakes are perfect for picnics and quick on-the-go bites.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep oven and muffin tin
Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F) with a rack positioned in the middle. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners, or lightly grease each cup with 1g of softened butter to prevent sticking. Set the prepared tin aside while you mix the batter.
Mix dry ingredient blend
In a large mixing bowl, combine 240g all-purpose flour, 50g granulated sugar, 10g baking powder, 3g baking soda, and 2g fine table salt. Whisk the mixture for 30 seconds at moderate speed to evenly distribute all leaveners and seasonings, breaking up any small flour clumps as you go.
Whisk wet ingredient mixture
In a separate medium bowl, add 1 room-temperature large egg, and whisk lightly for 10 seconds until the yolk and white are fully combined. Pour in 240ml full-fat buttermilk, 57g slightly cooled melted unsalted butter, and 5ml pure vanilla extract. Whisk for 20 seconds until the mixture is smooth and uniform, with no visible streaks of egg.
Fold batter gently to combine
Pour the entire wet ingredient mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Use a silicone spatula to fold the ingredients together for no more than 15 seconds, stopping as soon as no large dry flour patches remain. The batter will be lumpy with small visible clumps—do not overmix, as this will create tough, dense muffins.
Portion batter into tin
Use a 3-tablespoon (45ml) cookie scoop to divide the batter evenly between the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling each cup no more than two-thirds full to leave room for rising. Wipe any drips of batter off the top surface of the muffin tin to prevent burnt edges during baking.
Bake until golden domed
Place the muffin tin on the middle oven rack, and bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 200°C (400°F). Avoid opening the oven door for the first 15 minutes of baking to prevent muffins from sinking. Test for doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick into the center of a middle muffin—it should come out with 2 to 3 small moist crumbs attached, not wet batter.
Cool muffins before serving
Once baked, remove the tin from the oven and transfer it to a wire cooling rack. Let the muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes, then lift each muffin out by the paper liner to cool directly on the rack for an additional 10 minutes before serving. Store leftover muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
Tips
2.If you don’t have store-bought buttermilk, make a quick substitute by stirring 15ml (1 tablespoon) of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice into 225ml of whole milk, then let it rest 5 minutes at room temperature until slightly curdled before use.
3.For a crunchy, sweet top crust, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of coarse turbinado sugar evenly over the portioned batter right before baking, adding a pleasant textural contrast to the soft, tender crumb inside.
OMG these buttermilk muffins are SO good! I baked them for my kids’ after-school snack yesterday and they begged for a second batch before I even finished cleaning the mixing bowl. So fluffy, not too sweet, perfect with a little slather of salted butter. 10/10 will make again for the weekend potluck!
Super easy recipe, even for a total baking newbie like me! Cook time was spot on 30 minutes, came out fluffy every single time I’ve made it (three batches in two weeks, no shame). I add a handful of blueberries to half the batch for my girlfriend and she swears they’re better than the bakery downtown.
Brought these to my office potluck last week and the entire tin was gone in 10 minutes flat. Multiple people asked for the recipe before I even left the break room. The fluff is no joke — don’t skip resting the batter like I almost did, that step makes all the difference!
Wait, has anyone tried making these with a 1:1 gluten free flour blend? My youngest has celiac and I’ve been hunting for a reliable fluffy muffin recipe that doesn’t turn into a dense brick.
Game changer for weekday breakfasts! I make a big batch on Sunday, toss them in the freezer, and pop one in the microwave for 30 seconds on my way out the door. Tastes just as fresh as the day I baked them. Way better than the sad gas station muffins I used to grab.
These are the perfect plain muffin to pair with my morning latte. Not overly sweet, so I don’t get that sugar crash an hour after breakfast, and the texture is so cloud-like. I sprinkled a little coarse sugar on top before baking for a tiny crunch and it was chef’s kiss.
Help! I followed the recipe exactly but my muffins came out flat and dense? Did I do something wrong? I mixed the batter until there were zero lumps because I thought that was what you were supposed to do.
My grandma used to make buttermilk muffins just like this for Sunday family dinner, and this recipe tastes exactly like hers! I got a little nostalgic taking the first bite, honestly. The crumb is perfect, the tang from the buttermilk is just right, no weird artificial aftertaste like the store-bought mix I tried last month.
I was skeptical these would be light enough to fit my macro goals but they’re perfect! I swapped a third of the all purpose flour for whole wheat, added a scoop of vanilla protein powder, and they still came out fluffy. Great base recipe to tweak for whatever you’re craving.
Pro tip: Add a handful of shredded sharp cheddar and a pinch of garlic powder to the batter for savory muffins that go so good with chili night. My family went crazy for them last week when we had chili and cornbread (well, cheddar buttermilk muffins) for dinner.
I baked these with my 7 year old for her 4-H baking contest and we won first place! The recipe is so simple she could measure almost all the ingredients by herself, and the judges kept commenting on how light and fluffy they were. Total win in my book.
Made these for a girls’ brunch last weekend and served them with honey butter, jam, and lemon curd. Everyone kept going back for more, and two of my friends asked if I’d ordered them from the fancy bakery down the street. Little do they know how easy they were to throw together!
Made these in my tiny dorm kitchen with just a hand mixer and a cheap muffin tin and they still came out perfect! No fancy equipment needed, which is a win for us college kids surviving on a meal plan and dorm snacks. I even shared them with my RA and she gave me an extra snack pass for the floor kitchen, lol.
I rolled the tops of these in melted butter and cinnamon sugar right after they came out of the oven and they taste just like the old-fashioned donut muffins I used to get as a kid. 10/10, no notes. I’ve already made four batches this month.
Wait, how long do these stay fresh on the counter? I baked a batch last night and want to make sure they don’t go stale before my kids get through them all. I usually store baked goods in a bread box but I wasn’t sure if these need to be refrigerated.
Has anyone tried making these vegan? I’m dairy free and miss fluffy buttermilk muffins so bad. I was gonna use oat milk with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar as a buttermilk swap and vegan butter, but I’m nervous they won’t rise right.
I drizzled a tiny bit of pure maple syrup on top of these warm out of the oven and it was the coziest fall breakfast ever. The fluff is unreal — I’ve made so many muffin recipes that come out like dense hockey pucks, but these were light as air even when I added a little extra cinnamon to the batter. Will be a staple in my house from now on.