The Ritz Carltons Blueberry Muffins Recipes

This recipe came to The Times by way of Marian Burros in a 1985 article about the famous muffins served at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Boston. The hotel has been serving blueberry muffins since it opened in 1927, but in 1971, then pastry chef Charles Bonino set out to develop a better recipe. One of the city's best-known department stores, Gilchrist's - long since closed - was renowned for its version, so Mr. Bonino bought dozens of the muffins over the years and would analyze and and try to replicate them. He was never totally happy with the results, even if the guests were. Gunther Moesinger, the pastry chef who succeeded Mr. Bonino in 1982, again made more changes, swapping out shortening for butter, increasing the eggs and blueberries and reducing the baking powder. This recipe is an adaptation of Mr. Moesinger's recipe which results in a plump, crusty-topped muffin. They're best eaten the day they are made. (After this article ran, a reader wrote in to argue that the department store Jordan Marsh's blueberry muffins were the best in Boston, not these. That recipe is here, so you can decide for yourself.)

Provided by Marian Burros

Categories     breakfast, side dish

Time 40m

Yield 15 to 16 large muffins

Number Of Ingredients 9

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 248, UnsaturatedFat 3 grams, Carbohydrate 37 grams, Fat 9 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 5 grams, SaturatedFat 5 grams, Sodium 161 milligrams, Sugar 14 grams, TransFat 0 grams

• Ingredients

This recipe came to The Times in a 1987 article by Marian Burros, "The Battle of the Blueberry Muffins." Two years prior, Ms. Burros wrote about a recipe for the muffins attributed to the Ritz-Carlton in Boston. The hotel had adapted a recipe used by Gilchrist's, once one of city's best-known department stores. After it ran, a reader wrote in to say that the best blueberry muffins in Boston were not from the Ritz-Carlton, but from the now-closed Jordan Marsh department store. She sent along the recipe, with a description of how she picks wild blueberries: standing in a pond in the August heat and plucking berries from bushes along the bank. This version has a lot more sugar and butter and fewer eggs than the Ritz-Carlton muffins. The recipe also calls for mashing a half cup of berries and adding them to the batter. This produces a very moist muffin, one that will stay fresh longer.

Provided by Marian Burros

Categories     breads, dessert

Time 40m

Yield 12 muffins

Number Of Ingredients 10

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 260, UnsaturatedFat 3 grams, Carbohydrate 42 grams, Fat 9 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 5 grams, Sodium 174 milligrams, Sugar 25 grams, TransFat 0 grams

• Ingredients

Provided by cooksalot

Number Of Ingredients 10

• Ingredients