Magnolia Bakery Blueberry Muffins are soft, moist, and loaded with fresh blueberries. Since opening its doors in New York City in the 1990s, Magnolia Bakery has become synonymous with exceptional baked goods that draw daily lines of eager customers. Among their most beloved offerings are these incredibly soft, moist blueberry muffins that burst with fresh berries and rich buttermilk flavor. This copycat recipe brings the magic of Magnolia Bakery’s famous muffins to your home kitchen, delivering bakery-quality results with simple ingredients and proven techniques.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Why This Recipe Works
This Magnolia Bakery copycat succeeds because it replicates the exact techniques that make their muffins legendary: using buttermilk for tang and tenderness, incorporating fresh blueberries properly to prevent sinking, and mastering the crucial mixing technique that creates tender, not tough, results. The secret lies in minimal mixing and the proper ingredient ratios that produce bakery-style texture and flavor.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make fresh blueberry muffins:
- All-purpose flour – Provides structure while maintaining the tender crumb characteristic of bakery muffins
- Baking powder – Creates the perfect rise for light, fluffy texture
- Sugar – Sweetens the batter and creates a tender texture through moisture retention
- Salt – Enhances all flavors and balances sweetness
- Eggs – Add richness, structure, and help create the signature golden color
- Buttermilk – The secret ingredient that provides tang and creates an incredibly tender texture
- Unsalted butter – Adds richness and contributes to the moist, tender crumb
- Vanilla – Enhances all other flavors with warm, aromatic notes
- Fresh blueberries – The star ingredient that makes these muffins special
How to Make Blueberry Muffins
Making muffins is an easy process. Here’s what to do:
- Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the mixture.
- Add eggs, buttermilk, butter, and vanilla.
- Stir until just combined.
- Gently fold in lightly floured blueberries.
- Fill muffin cups and sprinkle sugar on top.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out with moist crumbs attached.
Should you use a paper lining when making muffins?
It is not absolutely necessary to use a paper lining, but it is essential to grease the muffin tin well when baking muffins. Yes, paper linings look lovely, and they can help protect the delicate pastry.
If you don’t happen to have any on hand, you can feel comfortable preparing muffins without paper linings.
Storage & reheating instructions
- Room Temperature Storage: Store in airtight container for up to 3 days for best texture and flavor
- Reheating Method: Warm in 300°F oven for 5-8 minutes to restore fresh-baked texture and aroma
- Freezing: Wrap individually and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and warm before serving
Love blueberries? Try these recipes
Easy breakfast breads
- Homemade Zucchini Bread
- Whole Wheat Banana Bread
- Pumpkin Bread with Pumpkin Seeds
- Petite Vanilla Scones
- Plain Sweet Muffins
- Date Nut Muffins
- Apple Muffins
- Oatmeal Raisin Muffin
- Muffins That Taste Like Donuts
- Almond Poppy Seed Muffins
Be sure to take a look at more of my easy bread recipes and favorite breakfast recipes.
Magnolia Bakery Blueberry Muffins Easy Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries lightly floured
- 1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan generously.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making a well in the center.
- Stir in the liquid ingredients until just combined, being careful not to over mix. The batter may be lumpy.Â
- Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
- Fill the muffin cups about three-quarters full.
- Lightly sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until lightly golden or a cake tester inserted into the center of the muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not over bake.
Two questions: can I use frozen blueberries, and if you use cupcake liners do you need to spray them with Pam? Thank you.
I haven’t tried the recipe with fresh blueberries, so I would want to try it a couple of times to see. I am concerned they may release too much water in the batter. If you use cupcake liners, you may want to spray the pan should any batter spill into the muffin in while it bakes. It would not be helpful to spray the cupcake liners.
I made these this morning for my husband and I. They were delicious, full of flavor as I did add 1tbs. Lemon zest and 1 tsp cinnamon to the batter. Baked for 30 minutes at 350 and they turned out perfect. Those who complained about not rising should check their ingredients for freshness. I replace my baking powder, baking soda and yeast every 6 to 8 months or right after reaching expiration dates. Seems waistfull, but very important if you’re an avid baker to keep your end results perfect. Eggs, flour, and milk should also be on your list of when to check with freshness dates. Very important.
The recipe was great! My 8-year-old daughter and I followed it to the letter. She did most of the work well I supervised ; )They actually turned out big and gorgeous just like the bakery. They were in the oven for 30 mins exactly. I think we both agree they could use som7e lemon zest and juice for added flavor. Took a picture but can’t upload here.. picture perfect! Thanks
Please correct instructions – the recipe makes 24 muffins, not 12. Also, cook time is misquoted. At 22 minutes, muffins were barely stable. Golden brown took approximately 8 – 10 minutes more.
Thanks I will retest the recipe, and make an update.
Didn’t care for this recipe. Eggy taste to the muffin and no other flavor stood out.
This recipe did not work for me either. Took 38 minutes to cook through, never really turned brown though. Batter is dense and not sweet at all.
I made this exact recipe from the Magnolia House Bakery cookbook and they were moist and tasty, but the batter itself was slightly bland. I think next time I might add a bit of lemon zest or cinnamon to the batter for a bit more flavor.
I made these muffins today and was very disappointed.
The recipe says not to over bake them but they still took twice as long to bake and still came out with no color and tasting like a biscuit. I did not want to make scones I wanted muffins.
Not a good recipe in general.
I am really sorry these didn’t work out for you. They are good, one thought that I have may have been your baking powder may have been inactive. It sounds like they didn’t lift like they should have. The levening agents in here would have been the baking powder, eggs, and the buttermilk. It sounds like something wasn’t as active as it should have been.