Wild Blackberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze

Wild blackberry muffins with plump, juicy berries and a light, lemony glaze are a perfect treat for any day of the week. Breakfast, brunch, or even a snack.

One of best parts about an Oregon summer is the abundance of wild blackberries, aka marionberries, that grow everywhere. I’ve found them on the road leading up to my street, the neighbors have a huge patch in their backyard, and I even have some small plants beginning to grow in my own backyard.

As a lover of seasonally fresh ingredients, I have definitely picked my fair share and have been coming up with creative ways to use them all summer long. I have many blackberry recipes to share, but I want to start with these wild blackberry muffins with lemon glaze.

They are moist and tender, with plump ripe berries, and a light lemony glaze on top. I like to whip up a batch on the weekends. The leftovers can be frozen and pulled out one at time to indulge in a bite of summer any time of the year.

I know not everyone of you has access to a crop of wild blackberries, so I’ll be the first one to tell you that store bought will work just fine. If you are reading this in February, store bought frozen berries will be your best bet, as they are frozen at peak ripeness and in winter should be cheaper.

When testing this recipe I played with both fresh and frozen wild blackberries. The fresh ones have a firmer texture and, if not over mixed, will give you the results you see in the photo where you can clearly see wild blackberry and muffin.

Frozen blackberries, however, lose a lot of their shape as they thaw and will break up easily as mixed. The result is still tasty, but the muffin batter will get streaks of purple through it and you lose that contrasting flavor of tart blackberry to sweet muffin.

How do we fix this and still use frozen berries? By mixing in the berries while still frozen. It allows the blackberry to stay whole, instead of becoming a swirl in your batter. The berries will have plenty of time to thaw out while in the oven, and will retain their shape within the muffin.

These wild blackberry muffins are mixed using the standard muffin method. Start by allowing your wet ingredients sit out for a few minutes and come up to room temperature. Using ingredients that are too cold will cause your melted butter to resolidify when it comes into contact with cold ingredients, making it impossible to mix properly.

Measure the wet ingredients into one bowl and the dry into another bowl. Make sure one of those bowls is large enough to hold all the ingredients. Mix each bowl thoroughly to combine, then add wet to dry or dry to wet.

Since we are adding it all at once, it doesn’t really matter which way you do it, just make sure the bowl is big enough to hold it all.

Recently I switched to full fat dairy products in my kitchen. It may sound like a crazy idea in this world of skinny everything, but for me it’s really working. I find that full fat dairy fills me up faster and keeps me feeling fuller longer. I believe that smaller portion sizes and not being hungry within an hour of eating is a winning combination.

That said, while testing this recipe I used greek yogurt with 4% milk fat and whole milk. The batter has a thick, rich texture. If you opt for low fat your batter will be slightly thinner and the flavor won’t be as rich, but it will definitely still work.

For the muffin topping, I chose a lemon glaze instead of a streusel topping. It’s a very simple icing, using part lemon juice and part powdered sugar.

You can make it less tart by substituting water for part of the lemon juice, or making a thicker icing by using less lemon juice. I suggest that you mix it up, give it a taste, and adjust based on what you like best.

If you were hoping for a streusel recipe for these muffins, go check out my Streusel Topped Blueberry Muffins. Follow steps 10 and 11, using the ingredients listed in the Streusel topping section.

For best flavor, serve these muffins warm from the oven. They can be stored at room temperature for 2 days, or frozen for longer storage. Defrost on the counter in 20 minutes or so, or in the microwave for 20 – 30 seconds on low.

If you like this recipe for Wild Blackberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze, don’t forget to pin it for later! If you are looking for other great muffin recipes, check out my Banana Bread Muffins or this muffin recipe roundup!

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Wild Blackberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze

Course: Breakfast & Brunch

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 18 muffins

Calories: 162 kcal

Author: Renee Gardner

Wild blackberry muffins with plump, juicy berries and a light, lemony glaze are a perfect treat for any day of the week. Breakfast, brunch, or even a snack.

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Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup 4% greek yogurt
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup butter - melted
• 2 tsp vanilla

Blackberries

• 6 ounces fresh or frozen blackberries *see notes
• 1 TBSP flour

Lemon Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 - 3 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter or line muffin tins.

3. Rinse fresh blackberries* and lay flat on a paper towel to dry.

4. Mix together the dry ingredients: 2 cups of flour, the baking powder and the salt.
5. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients: eggs, sugar, greek yogurt, milk, butter, and vanilla.

6. Place the dry blackberries and 1 TBSP of flour into a small bowl. Toss to coat the blackberries.

7. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry until thick and slightly lumpy.

8. Gently fold in the blackberries, until coated with the batter.

9. Spoon the batter into cups so that it comes just below the top edge of the pans.
10. Bake for 22 - 28 minutes or until the tops are a golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

11. Allow to rest in muffin tins until cool to touch. About 5 - 10 minutes.

12. Make the glaze by stirring together the lemon juice and powdered sugar.** 

13. Drizzle the glaze over each muffin and serve warm.

Recipe Notes

*If using frozen berries, do not thaw or rinse prior to use. Toss them in the flour while frozen, then mix into the batter.

**For a thicker glaze reduce the amount of lemon juice. For a less tart glaze replace 1 -2 TBSPs of the lemon juice with water.