Buttermilk Raspberry Muffins

Sweet buttermilk muffins lightly topped with sugar and filled with raspberry preserves will have you reaching for seconds (and thirds—no judgment). After practicing this recipe over the past couple weeks, I've adjusted and tweaked over and over until they have finally reached muffin perfection. These little muffins actually remind me of a filled baked donut.

This post has been updated in July 2022

One Bowl

I love that this recipe uses only one bowl and one spoon (I prefer wooden)! Grab a 12 cup muffin pan and lightly grease with non-stick spray. Only a bowl, a spoon and the muffin pan to clean up. Easy! This recipe makes exactly 12 muffins, which I also love.

Ingredients

• Gluten Free Flour Blend - Since I am gluten intolerant, I have to bake everything with gluten free flour. (Yes, I'm a little sad every day.) Thankfully, King Arthur Flour makes my absolute favorite blend of GF flour (you can read about WHY it's my favorite here), and predictably it works great in this recipe! In fact, my flavor-discerning husband couldn't even tell!
  
• Buttermilk - The addition of buttermilk is what makes these muffins so tender and yet lends enough structure to hold the jam. It also adds moisture without the fat (as opposed to butter).
  
• Nutmeg - This delicious spice packs a lot of flavor in such a tiny amount, and it is a great complement to a basic vanilla flavor.

All About Buttermilk Raspberry Muffins

• Texture - These muffins are tender and sweet, kind of between a biscuit and a muffin in texture and flavor.
  
• Flavor - Lightly sweetened, but feel free to add extra (extra!) sugar on top to add more sweetness. Fill with your favorite jam (or cream or Nutella) to make it your own! The nutmeg lends just the perfect touch of spice and depth of flavor.
  
• Difficulty - These muffins fall between easy and moderate, only because they need to be poked with a chopstick and filled with jam. It's a simple step, but adds a bit more than a basic muffin. See pictures for a visualization of this step.
  
• Time - Mixing up the batter for these muffins requires one bowl, one spoon and just a few minutes. It's a simple "combine dry, add wet" situation. My favorite. Bake time was exactly 15 minutes for my oven every time. But every oven is different and it may take up to 18 minutes.

Variations

Dairy Free

The only dairy in this recipe comes from buttermilk. You can substitute a vegan sour cream, yogurt or a mixture of 1 teaspoon lemon juice with ¾ cup plant-based milk, such as oat milk. Sometimes there is dairy in gluten free flour blends, so if you need to keep it completely dairy free, be sure to grab one like King Arthur Measure for Measure with no dairy.

Vegan

Substituting the egg (and dairy, above) is really simple! I love the chart on this recipe with all the substitution options. My favorite is the flax egg. It's healthy and has a texture really close to an egg. Be sure to grab vegan white sugar too.

Sugar Free

If you want to lower or completely remove the sugar in this recipe, try substituting with monk fruit granulated sweetener or a brand like Swerve. I also love baking with coconut sugar. Each of these substitutes can be added cup for cup from the old recipe. These all add a lot of sweetness, but are not a refined sugar.

How to Store Muffins

Storing muffins can always be a challenge because of their shape. I've found that the best way to store these muffins is in a large ziploc bag lined with a paper towel. The paper towel will soak up the excess moisture and keep the muffins from getting sticky and staying fresh longer. They will keep for up to one week at room temperature when stored this way.