The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipe (2024)

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The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipe (1)

Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins are legendary in the Boston area. We’re sharing the recipe today – including tips and tricks from the man who baked these muffins for 45 years.

There’s a saying that goes, “God is in the details.” Meaning – when attention is paid to small details, it yields great rewards. Such is the case with today’s recipe for The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins!

Jordan Marsh Company was a New England-based department store with its flagship store located in Boston’s Downtown Crossing. Years ago, many Bostonians (including myself) made frequent pilgrimages to the Jordan Marsh bakery just for their legendary blueberry muffins.

The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipe (2)

The Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins were perfection! A huge, sweet, tender, cake-like muffin that baked up into a perfectly domed, sugar-crusted muffin top! Inside was a generous amount of juicy blueberries – so juicy they stained the muffin batter in parts a distinctive purple-blue color.

If you search online, there are many sites that have already shared the same version of the Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins recipe over the years. I’ve tried that recipe, and while the muffins were very good, they really weren’t the same as the muffins I remember eating from the Jordan Marsh bakery.

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So I was thrilled to see a recent local Boston news reporter, Maria Stephanos, interview John Pupek – the now-retired baker who made the Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins for 30 years! Maria convinced John to come out of retirement to share his secret tips and tricks for making those amazing muffins. You can see her broadcast here.

As soon as we saw this news report, I knew I wanted to try making the Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins recipe again! And while Maria shares the muffin recipe, as written, it didn’t reflect all of those little details that John shared with her in the interview. We made three different batches of muffins – listening to the video for additional secrets before we got it right!

Our written recipe below details some specifics including:

Use a blend of bread and pastry flour (we used a 50/50 mix)

The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipe (4)

Slowly cream the sugar and shortening until lightly and fluffy. (We settled on a mix of butter and shortening. While the recipe listed butter, if you listen to the video of the interview, John mentions “shortening” – but we felt 100% shortening didn’t have as much flavor as a butter and shortening combination).

The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipe (5)

Use fortified eggs (we used Eggland’s Best which have more Omega-3 fatty acids than typical eggs) and add them gradually to the sugar/shortening mixture.

Mash ½ cup of the blueberries (this helps gives the muffins their distinctive color as well as additional moisture).

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Coat the remaining blueberries with some of the flour mixture before stirring them into the batter. (In watching the video, we were certain that they used frozen blueberries rather than fresh blueberries based on the amount of juices in the bowl.)

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Don’t over mix the batter, otherwise it will yield a tough muffin.

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Generously grease the muffin pans with shortening – including the top of the pan. We also recommend using paper liners – the two batches we attempted without liners stuck to the pan. Then fill the muffin cups with a heaping amount of batter.

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Generously coat the top of each filled muffin cup with sugar.

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And this is one of our tips: To get that wonderful domed top – start with a very hot oven, then reduce to a lower temperature after baking for five minutes.

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After following the tips and tricks from the news broadcast – and some trial and error of our own at home – we think these make-at-home Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins are very close to the real deal! Enjoy!

We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!

The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipe (12)

The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipe (13)

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Yield: 10 muffins 1x

Prep: 20 minsCook: 25 minsTotal: 45 minutes

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Units:

Scale:

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 whole fortified eggs such as Eggland’s Best
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, thawed
  • 1 cup white pastry flour
  • 1 cup bread flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, for tops

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F with rack in the center of the oven.
  2. Spray the inside of a 12 cup muffin tin with pan spray (You will only be using 10 of the 12). Then, using vegetable shortening, liberally grease the top of the pan. Place muffin papers into the sprayed holes. Set the pan aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and shortening for one minute with the paddle attachment.
  4. Add sugar and beat on medium for about one minute.
  5. With the machine on medium, add one egg at a time and blend to mix. Scrape sides then beat on medium for two and a half minutes. This is important to whip air into the batter.
  6. Add vanilla and beat for a few more seconds to combine.
  7. Remove ½ cup of blueberries to a small bowl and mash with a fork or a potato masher. Set aside.
  8. See how much liquid the blueberries gave up. I determined that it was a bit too much and pulled ¼ cup of liquid out which I did not use in the muffins. I did leave some juice in with the blueberries however, maybe about ¼ to 1/3 cup.
  9. Take two tablespoons of either flour type and sprinkle over the whole blueberries and toss to coat.
  10. Mix both flours, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Just stir a few times to mix.
  11. Start adding the flour mixture and the milk a little at a time with the mixer running. Once they are both in, do not mix further. You want to just get them incorporated without over mixing. Otherwise the muffins will be tough.
  12. Remove the mixing bowl to your counter and fold in the mashed blueberries. Then fold in the whole berries with the juice.
  13. The traditional Jordan Marsh blueberry had a purple/blue tint from the berry juice.
  14. Using an ice-cream scoop, divide the mixture between ten cups of the prepared 12 cup muffin tin. The batter will be piled high above the rim.
  15. Sprinkle the final granulated sugar over the tops of each muffin (total 2 tablespoons) and immediately place in the oven.
  16. Bake for five minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for 20 more minutes. (If your oven has a hot spot, rotate pan halfway through. Do not over bake. They will be soft but 25 minutes is plenty of time and they will bake a little further outside of the oven.)
  17. Remove to a rack to cool.
  18. Once cool, gently pry the muffins out by making sure the overhang did not stick to the pan top.

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The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making moist muffins? ›

How to Make Homemade Muffins Moist: Our Top Tips
  1. Tips to Make Homemade Muffins Moist.
  2. Keep Wet and Dry Ingredients Separately.
  3. Add All Flavorings Last.
  4. Consider Paper Liners.
  5. Don't Overfill the Muffin Cups.
  6. Check the Temperature of Your Oven.
  7. Test if Muffins Are Fully Cooked.
  8. Top Your Muffins with Flavor.
Aug 9, 2021

What would make blueberry muffins taste like soap? ›

Remember also that too much baking soda in a recipe and not enough acid will still result in a soapy, metallic taste in the baked good. Thus, getting the right amount of baking soda in your baking is important, we don't want soapy tasting cakes!

Does Jiffy blueberry muffin mix have real blueberries? ›

`s customer relations department tells us that the blueberries in the mix actually are little bits of apples that are flavored and colored to look and taste like blueberries. Why does Jiffy do this?

What does adding an extra egg do to muffins? ›

If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.

What not to do when making muffins? ›

Here are some common mistakes that might be causing this:
  1. Over mixing the batter.
  2. Overfilling the muffin tray.
  3. Leaving the muffins in the pan after they have baked.
  4. Berries, nuts, and chocolate chips sink to the bottom.
Mar 12, 2019

What is the blueberry muffin syndrome? ›

'Blueberry muffin syndrome' is the descriptive term used for an infant born with multiple blue/purple marks or nodules in the skin. These are due to the presence of clusters of blood-producing cells in the skin (extramedullary erythropoiesis), or bleeding into the skin (purpura), or spreading cancer (metastases).

How to enhance blueberry flavor in muffins? ›

The zest of one lemon and one teaspoon of fresh lemon juice are all you need to elevate the flavor. Just add the juice and zest to your blueberry muffin mix and bake as usual. The lemony tang adds a new flavor profile and you might never make blueberry muffins without lemon juice again.

Do you drain blueberries for muffins? ›

If you don't drain them, you'll end up with blue-colored muffins! Also, draining helps keep excess liquid out of the batter.

What is an Elvis muffin? ›

Moist, tender banana bread muffins flavored with peanut butter and accented with crunchy peanuts.

What state is known for blueberry muffins? ›

The blueberry muffin was adopted as the state muffin in 1988. The blueberry muffin was adopted as the official muffin of the state of Minnesota in 1988.

What do British people call American muffins? ›

English muffins are usually referred to simply as muffins in the UK; sweet American-style muffins are occasionally referred to as American muffins to differentiate. They are usually consumed with tea or coffee, and sometimes feature in afternoon tea served in UK hotels.

Is it better to use fresh or frozen blueberries for blueberry muffins? ›

It is really hard to find wild blueberries “fresh,” so I use frozen. Wild blueberries are smaller, and so they disperse better in the batter, in my opinion. You can use what you like. Frozen berries kind of “bleed” into the batter if mixed too much, so that is the only downside I can really think of.

Can I use frozen blueberries instead of fresh in blueberry muffins? ›

Fresh or frozen blueberries work great! This tried-and-true recipe is a keeper, and the only one you need if you've been looking for a straightforward, go-to blueberry muffin recipe!

Can I use frozen blueberries instead of fresh in muffins? ›

Frozen fruit is the way to go! Make sure you gently toss the them in a little flour before mixing them into your muffin batter. It helps keep them from sinking and from bleeding juice too much into the batter.

Are muffins better with oil or butter? ›

Structure - although oil makes baked goods very moist and longer lasting than butter, for high rising baked goods that need more structure, like muffins, butter is a better choice. Butter is wonderful for incorporating air into baked goods.

What oil is best for moist muffins? ›

Choosing vegetable oil is the best option for baking moist, delicious baked goods. Canola oil, the most common vegetable oil used in baking, doesn't add a strong flavor. It allows your cake's flavor will shine through while still achieving a moist texture.

Why are bakery muffins so much better? ›

The best bakery-style crumb muffins start with cake flour

Cake flour is more finely ground and has less protein, which leaves the muffins with a fine, light crumb and soft texture. Using cake flour is an easy way to avoid heavy, dense muffins even if you end up stirring just a bit too much.

What causes muffins to be dry and dense? ›

The main cause of dry, hard muffins is over-mixing the batter and overcooking the muffins. So the the 3 simple secrets for beautifully soft and moist blueberry muffins are: use butter AND oil -butter makes things tasty but oil makes things moist. So use both!

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