If I had to guess, I'd say that nearly everyone has made blueberry muffins before. I'd also assume that most people have a 'tried and true' method of making them. Personally, I rarely deviate from Cook's Illustrated's process. I say rarely, because in the case of these muffins, I did branch out, using a new-to-me muffin recipe from Dishing up Maine. This recipe yielded small, contained muffins, their dense exterior giving way to a soft middle. If you'd like the recipe, I'll certainly pass it along, but my preference still lies with these.

In all honesty, I made these muffins for reasons beyond wanting a delicious breakfast alternative. I've been renting a 100mm macro lens for the past week, and wanted to shoot as many food pictures as possible in the short time I have the lens. The muffins made the perfect model, especially in the moment right out of the oven, when the blueberries were still bubbling in the muffin tin.