Muffins are a tender, individually sized quick bread that can be enjoyed at every cafe, eaten for breakfast or a quick snack with coffee or tea. The muffin, we know so well today that hides behind the fingerprinted glass at your favorite bakery, has a history across the pond. The term muffin is loosely related to the old French word, moufflet, meaning soft tender bread. The more common meaning we know today originated in Britain describes a type of flatbread, leavened with yeast, and cooked on a griddle, once called tea cakes. Now, they’re referred to as an English muffin. Not until the eighteenth century when chemical leaveners like baking powder were invented in the Americas did the term adopt a new meaning. The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer was one of the earliest American cook books that had both styles of muffin recipes. it called the chemical leavened sweet bread a “quick” muffin. Early chemical leaveners, like pearlash or potash, were used, both being made from lye and wood ash. It’s difficult to come across a great muffin recipe. Most recipes we discovered were dry, pale in color, or spongy, with an unimpressive top, no better than the recipe from the 18th century, no doubt. We set out to achieve the same result of a café muffin while boosting the berry flavor and creating an exciting twist on a classic. First question we asked ourselves was what are the components of a classic café muffin? A small mountain of sweet crunchy streusel on top of a golden brown tender muffin, with perfectly suspended tart plump berries scattered throughout. When it comes to berries, more is not always better. Too many berries sink, leaving the bottom wet and soggy. To boost the berry taste without using more berries creating a quick jam was the route to success. Cooking half the blackberries with a small amount of sugar and adding a pinch of salt enhances the sweetness and flavor, while leaving the other half whole to provide a burst of berry tartness and freshness. Tossing the fresh berries in with the dry ingredients helped to prevent over mixing the batter, as well as to coat the berries in flour to help suspend them. What came first, the muffin or the cupcake? Although the history is very intertwined, they don't come from the same tin, technically speaking. Cupcakes use the creaming method where fat is creamed with sugar to aerate the batter and leaven it. This creates a light sweet fluffy cupcake. Some muffin recipes we came across used this method, we prefer is the muffin method. Simply both wet and dry ingredients are mixed separately then folded together to form a batter creating the cakey, dence, but not-too-sweet muffin we all know and love. Whole milk is a common dairy component in many baked goods and muffin recipes. Whole milk, contains more water than yogurt, which evaporates quickly, leaving room for error if overbaked leading to a dry spongy muffin. During our tests, we decided to use plain whole milk yogurt as our main dairy component. It created a moist and dense crumb perfect for suspending the blackberries in the batter. Plain whole milk yogurt is typically the most versatile yogurt for use in baked goods, containing less water than whole milk. We found that not all yogurts are equal, greek yogurt has less whey than plain yogurt leading to a thicker batter. It also contains a significant more amount of fat and protein. The extra fat provides tenderness while the extra protein provides structure, but these two components cancel each other out. Fat-free yogurts, whether it be Greek or plain, can contain stabilizers and other fillers, which can adversely affect baked goods, making them spongy. The tang of yogurt in baked goods is a delicious addition, but to balance the tang of the tart blackberries and yogurt, we used a small amount of baking soda to neutralize some of the acidity, while providing leavening for the billowing muffin tops. Oven temperature is extremely critical in creating a picture-worthy muffin top. In order to achieve the iconic muffin crown, baking powder was not enough. Baking powder reacts when heat is applied, and the classic 375 degrees was not cutting it. The heat had to be turned up. The common temperature range we came across in our search for best foolproof muffin recipe was 325 degrees to 450 degrees. The lower temperatures created a slower rise and flater top; better for sheet cakes, but not for the mountainous crowns of our muffins. 450 degrees left the muffins a dark golden brown but underbaked slightly in the center. A 425 degree oven was the perfect temperature. It created a outstanding top, crunchy streusel, with a tender moist center and golden brown exterior. You are sure to find blueberry muffins at every café you visit. A combo you might not often come across is blackberry and thyme, not often considered in muffin recipes. Sweet and savory is a classic mix. Savory herbs and fruit are a match made in heaven, basil and strawberry, blueberry and rosemary, mango and cilantro, the culinary applications are endless. The pairing that shined through in our tests were blackberries and thyme. Thyme is a woody herb that holds well to higher heat cooking and baking; that's how we were able to put thyme in the muffin batter, as well as the streusel with an accompanying lemon zest to help round out the earthy tones of the thyme, and brighten the blackberry flavor. Why this recipe works: Muffins are classic sweet quick bread found at every café and bakery. We set out to create a foolproof muffin with the iconic muffin top, loaded with streusel, and a tender cakey interior packed with berry flavor. A high oven temperature quickly gives the muffin lift, creating a billowing top. While creating a quick jam enhances the berry taste without overloading the muffin with wet berries, creating a soggy bottom. Creamy yogurt was substituted for whole milk giving the muffin moisture, a dense crumb, and to help suspend the berries in the batter. With the best of both worlds, we combined savory and sweet; thyme and blackberries into this recipe creating a twist on a classic berry muffin. Makes: 12 muffins Temperature: 425 degrees Streusel: ¼ cup rolled oats 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour ⅓ cup (2.1 ounces) packed light brown sugar ⅓ cup (2.1 ounces) sugar ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon pinch salt 1 teaspoon lemon zest 7 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon minced thyme Muffins: 2 ½ cups (12 ounces) blackberries halved crosswise, divided 2 teaspoons minced thyme 1 ⅛ cup (8 ounces) sugar plus 2 teaspoons 1 teaspoon table salt, plus pinch 2 ½ cups (12 ½ ounces) all-purpose flour 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda 2 large eggs 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly ¼ cup vegetable oil 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract 2 teaspoons lemon zest For Streusel: Combine oats, flour, sugars, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Melt butter with minced thyme in 1-cup liquid measuring cup at 50 percent power for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drizzle melted butter over flour mixture and toss with a fork until evenly moistened and forms large chunks and crumbles, set aside. For muffins: 1.Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 ¼ cups of halved blackberries, minced thyme, 2 teaspoons sugar, and pinch of salt to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mash berries with a rubber spatula and stir occasionally until berries have broken down and jam has thickened slightly, about 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside to let cool for 15 mins. 2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt together in a large bowl. Gently toss remaining 1 ¼ cup of blackberries in flour mixture till coated. Whisk remaining 1 ⅛ cup sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl till thick and combined. Whisk in butter, oil, yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest till combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg and sugar mixture into flour mixture just until batter is moist (batter will be thick with few spots of flour; do not over mix) 3. Use a large portion scoop or ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin tin. Fill muffin cups to the top and mound slightly. Using a teaspoon, spoon cooled blackberry jam into the center of each filled muffin cup. Using a skewer, or toothpick gently swirl jam mixture into batter in a figure-eight motion. Mound streusel topping (about 2 tablespoons) evenly over each muffin. 4. Baked muffins until tops have risen, are golden brown and firm, 17-18 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 10 mins, then transfer to wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Muffins are a delicious sweet breakfast treat, and with a dozen baked from this foolproof recipe, they are meant to be shared. Family, friends, and coworkers are sure to appreciate and enjoy these berry-delicious muffins, and mistake them as coming from a professional bakery or café. With a recipe like this, you’ll be sure to bake consistently every time like a professional in the comfort of your home kitchen.