Often when I get in the kitchen to bake, I think about esteemed cookbook author Marion Cunningham, who I worked for back in my 20s when I was but an intern. I learned more about baking under her care than all the years since. Even today, she’s in my head, instructing me to use a gentle hand when mixing my banana bread or reminding me how to cut butter into flour for tender biscuits.
A Shared Apricot Tart
When I went to Marion’s house for the job interview, I immediately noticed two things. First, she was striking to look at, tall with silver hair and cornflower blue eyes. Second, her kitchen smelled amazing, thanks to the free-form apricot tart just out of the oven that was beautiful enough for a magazine cover. She set it in front of me to enjoy as we talked on her patio out back. I was overwhelmed that she would make such a tart just for me, an intern candidate she’d never met before. It was the first of many lessons in hospitality that will forever be my example.
Good Classic Cooking
Marion died yesterday at the age of 90, something I learned from this lovely homage by New York Times’ writer Kim Severson. Upon reading it, I felt compelled to bake. It needed to be something of Marion’s, with no room for any of my usual healthy antics: no flax meal or oat flour, no substituting yogurt for butter, no paring back the sugar. Marion loved her iceberg wedges with blue cheese dressing, she wasn’t shy with the mayonnaise on a chicken salad, and insisted that shortening made a superior pie crust. She was admired by foodies and famous chefs alike, yet always stayed true to who she was: an excellent, unapologetic home cook. Call her a chef and she’d correct you.
After some thought, I settled on a blueberry muffin recipe from The Breakfast Book. It calls for fresh ginger, of which I had none. At the time, I had several pounds of just-picked olalieberries, which made an excellent first batch. Since then, it’s usually blueberries that go into the batter.
A Perfect Blueberry Muffin
The muffins turned out beautifully, a testament to Marion’s talent as a recipe writer. I think she would have approved. It felt both sad and cathartic to be baking. Indeed, a few tears dropped into the batter along with all those berries. But at least I wasn’t alone, Marion was right there with me, reminding me not to overmix the batter.
If you want to more recipes by Marion, you’ll find her crispy avocado tacos here.
If you like these Blueberry Muffins, check out:
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
One Bowl Slow Cooker Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Spice Blueberry Muffins
Whole-Grain Cranberry Streusel Muffins
One-Bowl Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Feel free to substitute blackberries, olalliberries, raspberries, or roughly chopped fresh cranberries for blueberries if you like. If fresh berries aren't available, feel free to use frozen ones, adding them to the batter straight from the freezer (no need to defrost).
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the muffin tin
- 3/4 cup sugar
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
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In a large bowl, use electric beaters or a whisk to cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the lemon zest and the eggs and whisk until incorporated. Add the buttermilk and mix again until incorporated.
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Add the flour and baking powder to the bowl and use a rubber spatula to fold them into the batter just until the dry ingredients are mixed in. The batter should be a smooth, even consistency.
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Add the berries and gently fold them into the batter just until evenly distributed. Use a light hand when mixing the batter, less is more here.
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Divide the batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
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Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before eating. Best served warm.
Comments
07.12.2012 at6:23 PM #
Anne Mullen
I’ve never heard of these berries, but they look beautiful. Your baking was a wonderful tribute to your friend. She’d be pleased.
07.12.2012 at6:23 PM #
Katie Morford
Thank you Anne.
07.12.2012 at8:17 PM #
Pam
I did not read the paper yesterday and am very sad to hear about her death. I cook from her books – especially The Breakfast Book (my go to pancake and waffle recipes) all the time. Thanks for sharing. Now I have to go bake muffins.
07.12.2012 at8:17 PM #
Katie Morford
Her raised waffles are the best.
07.12.2012 at11:30 PM #
Spinning Cook
Beautiful, Katie – thanks for sharing. What a privilege to have shared a year with her. It is amazing how legacies build upon legacies, with Beard’s influence leading to her own influence, and… There are many timeless contributions here, more than can be tracked or measured, not by volume nor weight. Nice muffins!
Ryan
07.12.2012 at11:30 PM #
Katie Morford
Thanks Ryan. I do love that about cooking…how we pass along our recipes and wisdom. Reading all the stories about Marion over the past few days, it’s amazing how many people she touched.
07.13.2012 at12:12 AM #
Kelly
Katie..
what a heart warming post and I would love one of those muffins right now! I will try them soon. Thank you for carrying on the tradition of being a great home cook and helping to make the rest of us the same:)
07.13.2012 at12:12 AM #
Katie Morford
Thanks Kelly. The role of home cook is one I cherish. Like Marion, I don’t want to be called a chef…I consider it a privilege to be a home cook.
07.13.2012 at5:40 AM #
Anne Mullen
When I first saw Marion Cunningham’s name, I first thought of the mom on “Happy Days”. It’s clear I’m not a knowledgeable foodie.
07.13.2012 at5:40 AM #
Katie Morford
Too funny!
07.26.2012 at4:17 PM #
Melissa@Julia's Bookbag
Katie, I just found your blog and I feel like I just won the lottery. I love food, food blogs and anything that has to do with COOL STUFF FOR KIDS! (I write about children’s books 🙂
This made me smile like you can’t imagine. I treasure my Marion books more than all my others (I collect cookbooks). I once did a post devoted to ‘The Breakfast Book’ — it is HANDS DOWN my fav cookbook.
Once I made EVERY MUFFIN in her muffin section. It was such a fun project! Every week, a new muffin! I adore her ginger ones.
07.26.2012 at4:17 PM #
Katie Morford
Wow. A fellow Marion devotee. I love that Breakfast Book. Thanks for sharing that. –Katie
09.23.2013 at8:04 PM #
Christina
I just made these for the first time today. I didn’t have olallieberries, but used raspberries instead. They were delicious!! I just wish they didn’t have the butter and buttermilk in them – feels much less healthy to me. I did use whole wheat pastry flour and next time I’ll probably add in some flax/almond meal/oat bran cereal/etc.
09.23.2013 at8:04 PM #
Katie Morford
This is a recipe by Marion Cunningham and she never bothered much with making things especially healthy, only delicious. I’m all for experimenting with wholesome ingredients and trying to improve on the nutrition front. FYI, you should be able to find low-fat buttermilk, making the recipe lower in saturated fat than full-fat buttermilk.
07.16.2014 at11:04 AM #
erin {yummysupper}
Whaaa… I had no idea you interned for Marion Cunningham! How amazing!!
And olallieberries are my favorites…. everything about these muffins makes me happy.
Hope you guys are having a good summer, Katie!
xoxox
E
07.16.2014 at11:04 AM #
Katie Morford
It was pretty cool, indeed. Learned a ton and ate very well that year!
06.06.2015 at10:14 PM #
Jennifer
I took my kids olallieberry picking today, and we ended up with not enough berries for a pie, but a perfect amount for a double batch of these muffins. They are amazing! Thank you for this recipe!
06.06.2015 at10:14 PM #
Katie Morford
Berry picking plus making muffins sounds like a perfect day. So glad you enjoyed them! I so appreciate comments like yours.
07.25.2023 at10:38 AM #
Bill
What a wonderful recipe and tribute to a friend. We live on the San Francisco Peninsula and make the trek every year to Pescadero to pick Olallieberries. We just went last weekend and came home with over 8 pounds of berries. We made jam for holiday presents and froze the rest. I made these muffins this morning for my kids – yum.
07.25.2023 at10:38 AM #
Katie Morford
Sounds like a fabulous outing! I love berry picking in that area. Glad you enjoyed the muffins.
08.20.2024 at12:26 PM #
Vicki
Katie- Your love of good food, clear simple recipes, and encouragement have always inspired me. I’m sorry to hear about the passing of one of your inspirations. Thank you for the wonderful recipe in tribute to Marion – I’ve set out the butter to make a batch.
08.20.2024 at12:26 PM #
Katie Morford
Thank you, Vicki. Enjoy them!
08.21.2024 at12:00 PM #
Deborah Johnson
I’ve been a fan of Marion Cunningham since I was in my early 20s (I’m now 63). I have her revision of the Fannie Farmer cookbook still (quite beaten up!) and have the Breakfast book (all stained). Love them both with good recipes that are tried and true. I love the fact that her recipes are simple and basic. You don’t need technique or skill to make them. Just good ingredients and everything tastes wonderful. I’d often wondered where she was and if she’d passed away. Thank you for that closure Katie. Now I know. She, along with Julia, helped me immensely as I learned to cook. Thankfully my two daughters are both good cooks now, as well. A family tradition.
08.21.2024 at12:00 PM #
Katie Morford
Her recipes really are wonderful and always reliable. Well done on teaching your kids to cook!