Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Upgraded

I’m in love with summer fruit. Of course, I love to eat fruit “as is,” but I’m also a fan of fruit in other forms. Jams filled with fruit, and fruit-laden cakes are often good and sometimes marvelous. I like pies, galettes, and cobblers too. But my heart really belongs to fruit-filled muffins.  Single serving gems, I rarely pass up a muffin, especially if it is bursting with blueberries. So these Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins speak to me – as in “come hither and take a bite!” 

My dad did hail from Boston and I visited a Jordan Marsh store in my youth. However, I didn’t know about the famous Jordan Marsh muffins. until my friend Linda told me about them. Needless to say, after she raved about them, I was delighted to get the recipe from her.

My version is upgraded with a few changes Linda made and a few I’ve added. Plus, I have put in weights because I prefer them to volume measurements for baking. Also, I have modified the directions to modernize them without any diminution in the final result. In fact, if I may be so bold, I think these are actually an upgrade from the original. 

Before we get to the recipe, a bit of history and a few tips.

First, the history. Jordan Marsh was a New England department store chain in business from the mid-nineteenth century until the mid-1990’s. From the 1960s to the 1990’s John Pupek baked the Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins at the store. During that period, many learned to love the sugary, crispy tops and cakey muffins filled with ripe blueberries. When Federated Department Stores/Macy’s took over the chain and renamed the stores, that was not the end of the muffins. John Pupek opened the Jordan Marsh Muffin Company and kept the muffin-making going until he closed his baking company in 2004. 

Next the tips. (Linda has lots to teach anyone who wants to learn. And I do. She’s had multiple careers and is an excellent cook/baker. Check out her No Butter or Shortening Date Nut Bars. I could go on singing her praises. But let’s get back to the muffins.)

Tips for Making Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins 

1. Mixing the Batter. Like all muffin batter, this should be only minimally mixed. That means you should gently fold the blueberries into the batter, rather than energetically mixing them in. Too much mixing once you add the dry ingredients and the blueberries toughens the batter, which is the opposite of what you want.  If you fold the batter gently, these muffins will be moist, tender, and cake-like.   

   

   

   

   
   

   

   

   

   
   

            

2.  Muffin Pans/Size. The original recipe called for greasing the muffin cups and then lining them. However, I simply moistened the top edges of the cups with a neutral oil and lined the tins without greasing them first. These muffins are big. And even bigger if you make 10, rather than 12. Following Linda’s directions, I used two muffin trays and spread the muffins out so they wouldn’t touch each other as they rose during baking.
3. Topping. I used a combination of sparkling sugar and Demerara or natural sugar. I’m cheap so I save on the expensive King Arthur sparkling sugar by cutting it with less expensive Demerara sugar. Plus, mixing them looks pretty before baking. However, you won’t see the color difference in the finished muffins. Sparkling sugar is slightly crunchier than Demerara. So if you’re not pinching pennies and love crunch, go for all sparkling.