Once upon a time, I spent approximately a whole summer making blueberry muffins, gripped with an obsession (that would be worrisome anywhere but this page) to make what I hoped would be the last blueberry muffin recipe we\u2019d ever need<\/a>. You\u2019d think after all that that the path to these raspberry muffins would be simpler, but it took five raspberry seasons to get here. <\/p>\n A very logical question you\u2019re about to ask is: Why not just swap the blueberries in your blueberry muffins with raspberries?<\/em> And the answer is that while it works; they\u2019re not bad at all, they\u2019re just not the raspberry muffin I dreamed of. These are and they\u2019re utterly perfect: hefty, moist, lemony, not too sweet, and absolutely tie-dyed with a constellation of raspberries inside. I think they might be the best muffin I have ever made. Here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned along the way:<\/p>\n Raspberries:<\/strong> Let me just get this out of the way: The correct amount of raspberries for 6 muffins is half a pound, or about 1 2\/3 to 1 3\/4 cups. This is a higher berry concentration than the blueberry muffins. Raspberries are not blueberries; they spill less into the batter around them so you need more to get the right oomph. <\/p>\n Frozen raspberries:<\/strong> Because fresh raspberries can be particularly pricey, rather than tell you \u201cgo for it!\u201d if you wanted to use frozen raspberries instead, I developed these with them. This was the surprise: Frozen raspberries work even better here. Because we stir them in still frozen, they don\u2019t get juicy until they\u2019re baked so you end up with a thicker muffin batter that domes higher and spreads less. \u201cBut I just went raspberry picking!\u201d First, I\u2019m jealous. Second, yes, you can still use them here, just keep in mind that the muffins can be flatter.<\/p>\n Size:<\/strong> On a rushed, distracted morning at the end of the school year, I realized that if you accidentally divide my Perfect Blueberry Muffin<\/a> batter into 6 muffins instead of the intended 9, you get an even more towering, generous, bakery-like muffin that feels every bit like the gift I\u2019d intended them to be for teachers*. In this recipe, that size is not an accident. It makes 6 and it\u2019s easily doubled to make 12. The muffins clock in at 4 to 5 ounces each and more than one-third that weight is from raspberries, but they\u2019re made in a standard-sized tin. I told you they were dreamy!<\/p>\n Streusel:<\/strong> I don\u2019t make the rules of the universe; I cannot explain to you why raspberry muffins need streusel but blueberry muffins do not, but trust me that the streusel here is nonnegotiable. Yet I loathe making a muffin batter and scooping it out only to realize I have another step: making a \u201cquick\u201d streusel. In Smitten Kitchen Keepers\u2019<\/a> Peach Crumb Muffins, I ran into this as well but it gnawed at me that streusel is just butter, sugar, and flour, right? And that\u2019s already in the batter? A bit of math later, my solution is to work the streusel step into the early part of the batter, so when you\u2019re done, you\u2019re really done. <\/p>\n
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<\/a>* Speaking of teachers!<\/strong> The Smitten Kitchen Classroom Wishlist Project 2023 is now live! In the US, a tremendous number of teachers don\u2019t get the funding they need to set their classrooms up for success. Most will end up paying out of their own pockets to buy educational materials, which feels all wrong and makes me sad. I\u2019ve asked teachers to send me their wishlists in hopes that we can help clear as many as possible, as we did last summer. Help out if you feel you\u2019re able \u2014 you will unquestionably make a teacher\u2019s (and their students) day! [Project information<\/a>. Direct link to spreadsheet<\/a>.]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n