Laura Burden and Kevin O’Brien with a batch of blueberry muffins made with Burden’s grandmother’s recipe at their home in Portland. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
Just over 40 years ago, my grandmother Virginia Albert was aiming to retire, and so she did what many people dream of doing in their golden years: She bought and began running an inn.
This was the Old Tavern Inn in Litchfield, to be exact – a property that came with granite hitching posts, hand-stenciled wallpaper, and a long history of providing comfort to travelers. What my grandmother discovered, though, was that as a retirement career, running an inn is anything but retiring. It is a constant barrage of activity – cleaning, marketing, managing calendars, making repairs – and what makes it all hum, she came to find, is the activity in the kitchen.
It was in the kitchen of the Old Tavern Inn that I received some of my earliest lessons in cooking, perched at Virginia’s elbow as she added dollops, dashes, pinches and scrids to the vintage Pyrex bowls that aided so many recipes.
Laura Burden checks on the blueberry muffins. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
Enter here the blueberry muffin. Few foods celebrate the joy of Maine as does this classic, which, if done well, manages to straddle the line between humble and divine. Such were the blueberry muffins I helped my grandmother prepare and set out in linen-lined baskets: delicate when just out of the oven, not too sweet, and a perfect pedestal for the Maine blueberry. We routinely prepared a variety of muffins for the guests – morning glory, cranberry, raisin bran and the like – but the blueberry was clearly the star. Many of the inn’s guests cited it specifically as a reason for their repeated stays. We always suspected there was more to it than that, but try this recipe and tell me if this muffin not only hums, but sings!
Blueberry muffins made with Burden’s grandmother’s recipe. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
This recipe works exactly as it should with the measurements given, but if, like me, you find joy in measuring with pinches and scrids, by all means go ahead. This recipe is not only delicious; it forgives improvisation and adjustment. When I was feeding my three kids, who happen to have a variety of food allergies, I ran this recipe through the wringer, and it always proved to be a showstopper. For instance, those who are wary of gluten or animal products can be confident that substituting gluten-free flour and/or egg replacer will still yield delicious results, and the Maine blueberry isn’t the only fruit that can infuse this muffin with joy. (Cranberries, anyone?)
Silicone baking cups work well with this recipe. Paper cups are absolutely fine, but you’ll lose some cake with them. Buttering and flouring your muffin tins and skipping the cups altogether are part of the original instructions – but whatever you do, know that Virginia Albert would be tickled to hear that her muffin recipe is still celebrating Maine in kitchens near and far.
The original recipe card in Virginia’s hand. Photo courtesy of Laura Stone Burden
Old Tavern Inn Blueberry Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins
MUFFIN INGREDIENTS:
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup orange juice
½ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1½ cups all purpose flour (lightly spoon the flour into the cup and level off when measuring)
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup Maine blueberries, fresh or frozen
TOPPING:
2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
¼ teaspoons cinnamon
Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour 12 muffin cups, or use silicone or paper muffin cups.
Combine the oats and juice in a large bowl. Add the sugar, oil and egg and stir to combine. In a second bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Combine the wet and dry mixtures. Gently fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into muffin cups, filling to two-thirds full.
To make the topping, blend the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle onto the muffins. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and just set. With your finger, you can press gently and feel when the center of the muffin is no longer gooey.
Cool the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then use a fork to gently lift each muffin partially out of the tin. Let cool for 5 more minutes, then remove each muffin to cool fully on a wire rack. Enjoy!
THE COOKS: Laura Stone Burden and Kevin A. O’Brien of Portland
Laura is a real estate agent, grant writer and former owner of a baking company. Born in Bangor and raised all over Maine (everywhere from Presque Isle to Portland), she’s accustomed to cooking for her three kids and extended family, and navigating particular tastes and serious food allergies along the way. According to her own account, her cooking is deeply informed by a combination of her Maine roots and extensive international travel. Her favorite cooking implement is her red silicone mixing spoon – which narrowly edges out her zester for first place.
Kevin is a writer and former teacher who works in academic publishing. His family has lived in the same farmhouse in Augusta since the 1780s. As it happens, late 18th-century midwife Martha Ballard (the Pulitzer Prize-winning history “A Midwife’s Tale” is based on her diary) on many occasions warmed herself by the fireplace in the same kitchen where Kevin acquired much of his cooking experience. His culinary style fuses old-school New England recipes, lessons learned from Jamie Oliver and Jacques Pepin YouTube videos, and a keen desire to minimize the amount of washing up. His favorite cooking tool is an inordinately large wooden cutting board — both because he values having a large work surface and because the board often showcases a freshly made pizza.
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