Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with butter or cooking spray. Process the cottage cheese in a blender or food processor until it is completely smooth with no visible curds remaining. Zest the lemon and set it aside. Take 1 tablespoon of flour from your measured amount and toss it with the blueberries until they are lightly coated; this helps keep them from sinking during baking.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon until the leavening agents are evenly distributed throughout the flour.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted, cooled butter and sugar together until just combined. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking gently after each addition, then stir in the vanilla extract. Using a spatula, fold in the blended cottage cheese and lemon zest until the mixture is smooth and uniform.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold everything together gently until no streaks of dry flour remain — the batter will look slightly lumpy, which is exactly right. Overmixing at this stage builds gluten and leads to tough muffins. Carefully fold in the flour-coated blueberries without crushing them.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. A small ice cream or cookie scoop makes portioning easy and consistent. Bake in the preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs.
- Remove the tin from the oven and allow the muffins to rest in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes so they can set before being moved. Run a thin knife around the edge of each muffin to loosen it, then gently turn them out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Notes
Blend the cottage cheese until it is completely smooth before adding it — any remaining curds will affect both the texture and appearance of the finished muffins. Make sure your melted butter has cooled to room temperature before combining it with the eggs, as hot butter can cause the eggs to cook or the cottage cheese to separate. Frozen blueberries can be substituted for fresh; toss them in flour straight from the freezer without thawing to prevent them from bleeding purple into the batter. Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or freeze them for up to three months and thaw at room temperature or warm briefly in the microwave.
