Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins

Even though I've lived almost 2/3 of my life in Canada, I was actually born in Worcester, Massachusetts and lived there until the age of 19 when I married and moved to Toronto, where I've lived ever since.  Yes, I married at 19, and yes, 30 years later we're still married!  Go figure.

I have many wonderful memories of growing up in Auburn, where we actually lived, and Worcester, but one memory that will forever stick in my mind is going with my Mom and Dad to Jordan Marsh at the Worcester Center Galleria and eating the delicious blueberry muffins from their bakery.  Those muffins were definitely a treat and quite famous.  Rightfully so I might add.  Enjoying a blueberry muffin from the bakery was just part of the experience of shopping at Jordan Marsh.  I was probably around 10 or 12 years old at the time and although I honestly don't remember much about shopping there, I do remember how much I loved those muffins.

I also remember when a newspaper, I can't recall which one, printed the recipe for the Jordan Marsh blueberry muffin and then shortly after retracted it, stating it wasn't the real recipe (someone obviously got in trouble for printing it in the first place.......).  Well by then my Mom, and probably half the population of Worcester, had already cut the recipe out of the newspaper.  So we got to enjoy those famous muffins at home. 

Do they taste like Jordan Marsh's muffins?  Yes they do, actually.  I'm pretty sure the muffins from the Jordan Marsh bakery had larger tops or were maybe just larger overall, but yes, these muffins definitely do taste very much like the muffins I enjoyed growing up.

Making these back in the summer when it was blueberry season in Ontario may have made more sense, but when I was grocery shopping the other day they had blueberries on sale from California, and blueberry muffins immediately came to mind.  Not just any blueberry muffins, but the famous Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins.  You can use frozen blueberries if you'd like, but you might want to toss them with a bit of flour so they don't sink to the bottom.

These gorgeous muffins are packed with blueberries, super moist, and incredibly delicious.  Don't be stingy with the sugar for the tops of the muffins either!  This recipe is for all you New Englanders out there who fondly remember these iconic muffins like I do. 

Enjoy!

P.S.  Go Patriots!!!!

Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins
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1 cup butter
1 - 1 1/4 cup sugar (I used 1 cup, some recipes for these muffins call for 1 1/4 cups)
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups blueberries*
sugar for top (I used "sugar in the raw")

*the extra 1/2 cup is optional, I didn't add them

Preheat oven to 375F.

With electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well after each addition.  In separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together and add to egg mixture alternately with milk and vanilla. 

Optionally, mash 1/2 cup of the blueberries, and stir in by hand (this will turn batter a light shade of blue and add a touch of blueberry flavour, but this step may be skipped, if you wish).  Gently stir in the remaining 2 cups blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, you may want to toss them with a bit of flour to avoid them sinking to the bottom of the muffins) by hand.  Grease muffin tins well, including tops of pans.  Pile mixture high in each cup.  Sprinkle sugar on top.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

Source:  My Mom's Recipe File

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