Basic Buttermilk Muffins with Variations

My Basic Buttermilk Muffins start with a fluffy and delicious muffin recipe. You can then add fruit, nuts, whatever you like, to make a moist muffin that is uniquely yours. The possibilities are endless!

I created the perfect Basic Buttermilk Muffin for one reason: to reshape my children's childhood memories. When they were little, whenever we would go to the grocery store, we would drop by the bakery department where they would pick out their own (cold, dense) muffins for the next morning's breakfast. 

Sometimes The Boy would grab a day old at the counter - you know, the ones they wrapped tightly in plastic wrap with the big orange 50% OFF sticker? Those are the muffin memories that I have successfully erased with this recipe. Fluffy muffins magic is real.

Let me tell you guys something. As I write this, I am eating a plain, basic buttermilk muffin and saying some really salty words because they are just that good, all on their own, with nothing added. Just muffin batter with a little coarse sugar sprinkled on top. I'm losing my mind, they're so good. #$%& yeah!

Why you need a good basic muffin recipe

If there is one thing I've learned over the years, it's that, unless you have a teenager with a new license who's itching to drive, no one wants to go to the store when you've forgotten an ingredient. Having a good set of basic recipes at your disposal keeps you from being locked into a specific set of ingredients.

With this Basic Buttermilk Muffin recipe, you can open your fridge or pantry and use whatever you have to make a muffin that's guaranteed to be delicious. See some blueberries in the fridge that are on their last legs? Toss them in the batter! Got blackberries? Make my almond scented blackberry muffins! As long as you have the basic muffin ingredients, you can have not so basic muffins!

Ingredients

See full recipe card below for exact measurements.

Buttermilk substitutions

Buttermilk - I get that not everyone has buttermilk in their refrigerator, although with its long shelf life, you really should. But, if you don't have access to buttermilk, you can replace it with either plain or Greek yogurt. Because of the thickness of Greek yogurt, you'll need to thin it a bit with regular milk or water. You can also use kefir, sour cream, crème fraîche, or buttermilk powder that has been hydrated according to label instructions

How to make a basic streusel topping

Can go on any muffin variety
Ingredients

• ¼ cup granulated sugar or brown sugar (50 g)
• ⅓ cup (40 g) all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons (43 g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into tiny pieces.

In a medium bowl combine the granulated sugar, flour, and butter. With your fingers, work in the butter pieces until the mixture is very crumbly and resembles a coarse meal. Add toasted nuts if you’re feeling crazy. The crumbs should be pea-sized, with some larger clumps. Refrigerate until ready to top muffin. Top each muffin with about a tablespoon of streusel topping. Bake as directed. 

Short Recipe Video

Instructions

I have updated my original recipe to turn it into a one bowl recipe. If you weigh your ingredients (I always include weight measurements) you will have very little clean up, and I'm always down for that!

• If using, place muffin liners in the wells of your muffin pan and spray them lightly with nonstick spray. This will ensure that you can easily remove the paper liners from your baked muffins.

Step 1: Add vegetable oil to melted butter to bring it all down to room temperature.

Step 2: In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, ¾ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add vanilla or other extracts, if using.

Step 3: Whisk together until sugar dissolves.

Step 4: Whisk in the butter and oil combo.

Step 5: Fold in the flour just until the last of it disappears. If adding any mix-ins, do so at the point shown in this picture, when some flour is still visible. This avoids over-mixing and helps ensure tender muffins

Let the muffin batter rest for at least 15 minutes, up to overnight, to allow the flour to be fully hydrated and give you a taller muffin. Take this time to preheat your oven to 425°F.

Step 6: Use a medium scoop, or a couple spoons, to distribute the muffin batter into each of the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle the top of the muffins with turbinado sugar, sparkling sugar, or streusel if desired. 

Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then drop the temperature to 350°F, without opening the oven. Bake for another 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.

Hint: Let cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan and then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes longer. Although you have removed them from the oven, they will continue to cook from their own residual heat for a few minutes. Open one up to soon and they will crumble. Give them a minute to get it together 😮‍💨

Muffin Variations

I want you to embrace this muffin recipe with the confidence to make it your own. To get you started, I’m sharing some of my favorite muffin variations, all of which my family lovingly taste-tested for you, some of which are so good they went on to have their own recipes (each is linked)

Coffee Cake Muffins Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon to streusel topping above. Whisk together all filling ingredients. Place 2 tablespoons batter in each muffin liner. Top with 1 teaspoon streusel and top with remaining 2 tablespoons muffin batter. Top with streusel. Bake as directed.

For Jammy  Swirl Muffins  Add ½ cup jam of choice to the top of the unbaked muffin and swirl into the batter with a toothpick or skewer. 

Fruit Muffins, such as blueberry buttermilk muffins Toss 1 ½ cups whole or chopped fruit with a tablespoon of your flour. Fold into the finished batter. Top with streusel or coarse sugar and bake as directed. 

Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Muffins Toss 1 ½ cups chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of your dry ingredients. Fold into the finished batter. Top scooped muffins with more chips.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Rub lemon zest into sugar with your fingers. Add 2 tablespoons poppy seeds to wet ingredients. Add one teaspoon lemon extract, if desired. Top with streusel or a lemon glaze made of 1 cup confectioners sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice to drizzle or dip. Bake as directed.

Double Chocolate Muffin Replace all-purpose flour with 1 ½ cups (180 g) all purpose flour and ½ cup (44 g) of cocoa powder.  Add 1 cup of chocolate chips. Put some more chips on top before baking. Bake as directed. 

Banana Muffins Replace ½ of your buttermilk with 2 mashed bananas. and mix into wet ingredients. Toss in ½ cup of toasted walnuts or pecans, if you like, and top with streusel. Bake as directed.

Apple Cinnamon Crunch Muffins  Add 1½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon to dry ingredients. Fold in ¾ cup to 1 cup of diced apples that have been sautéed for 3-4 minutes in two tablespoons of butter. Scoop into muffin tin and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake as directed. 

Try my Small Batch Raspberry Banana Muffins for a best of all worlds variation! Replace half of your buttermilk with 2 mashed bananas and fold in 2 cups of raspberries (frozen for 15 to 30 minutes so they won't break apart). Sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake as directed.

4 Tips to taller muffins

• Thicker batter: Using a good thick liquid like buttermilk, kefir, or even yogurt to make your muffin batter more thick is a great way to make sure they grow up and not spread out. Using a thicker liquid, instead of more flour, makes ensures that they are rich and moist, not dry and dense.
• Rest your batter: Allowing your batter to rest gives the flour time to fully hydrate, and for the baking powder and baking soda to start working, further thickening the batter for tall tops. Rest the batter for at least 15 minutes, up to overnight.
• Fill to the top: It just makes sense that starting with more batter that already wants to rise upwards will give you big, tall muffins.
• Start at high heat: I have you start your muffins at 425°F so that when the high heat and baking powder react you get a nice dome on the top of your muffins. After 5 minutes, drop the heat to 350° and finish baking. This initial high temp sets the outside of the muffin, leaving it nowhere to go but up.
  
  If you are concerned that you might forget to turn the temperature down (I may have done that a few times in testing), feel free to bake for 20-25 minutes at 375°. They may not dome quite as much, but they will be equally delicious.

Buttermilk muffin FAQs

More great morning bakes