Jordan Marsh muffins prove to be favorite

Holy Muffin! You really like those Jordan Marsh Big Blues, don’t you? I am the proud recipient of no fewer than 27 recipes, thanks to the generosity of all who responded, often with a story about how you originally obtained it. Jordan Marsh is no more, but this muffin made in the department store’s cafeteria became a huge favorite.

Roberta Rich, Lincoln, got hers from The Boston Globe’s “Confidential Chat”; Alice Cushman, Friendship, heard it on Gus Saunders’ “Yankee Kitchen” radio show. Hartland’s Natalie Nichols received it from her sister-in-law, and Anne Warner, Dixmont, and the Rev. Jesse Drysdale, Weston, both got theirs from mothers-in-law. Bucksport’s Beverley Robshaw got hers from a niece in Lexington, Mass., and Joanne Clemons, Hermon, got it from an 84-year-old aunt. The mother of Kathy Libby of Bangor used to make them, a favorite for Easter and Christmas brunch. When Jean Fardelman, Jonesport, was a Boston-based flight attendant with Eastern Airlines, she got the recipe from a co-worker during a flight to San Juan in the late 1970s (on a Lockheed 1011, no less). Genevieve Delicata, Prospect, picked hers up from a co-worker in the ’70s, too.

The 27 recipes varied only slightly. The first thing I learned was, as my neighbor Ruth Hartley reported, that these are called “Big Blues.” Then Linda Testa, Orrington, and Barbara Edwards, Mattawamkeag, said one way to turn them blue was to mash half a cup of the berries, stir them in and then add the rest of the fruit. Still, these muffins are essentially a delivery system for big purple wads of cooked berry anyway; making them bluer just puts them over the top!

Speaking of the top, like the recipe, Bette Parker, Roberta Rich, Lincoln; Mary MacLean, Brownville; and Helen Carney, Stockton Springs, all recommended greasing the top of the muffin tin along with the cup, so when they overflow you can still get them out easily. Some even said to use custard cups if you lack jumbo muffin tins.

The lady in Blue Hill who first requested the recipe observed that the original one seemed too sweet. It must have seemed so to you, too. About half the recipes reduced the sugar to 1 cup from 11/4. Anne Warner even cut it down to two-thirds. But no one omitted sugaring the top, and some, including Susan Hudson, Blue Hill, and Ann Sprinkle, Surry, sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the tops.

Pat Payelian, Corinna, recommends letting them bake a bit longer if you use frozen berries. Pat Hanson, Plymouth, says the muffins freeze well.

Laurine Hebert, Yarmouth, writes, “I am 91 and still love to cook! Enjoy the muffins!” she said, and Edna Bowen, Morrill, said, “I love everything about them,” while J.S. Hancock, Ellsworth, says “A great recipe.” Constance Eck wrote “Bon Appetit!” “Enjoy!” wrote Carroll Watmough, Rockport, and Joanne Dunphy, Dixmont. And we did.

Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins

Makes at least a dozen

1/2 cup of butter

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

21/2 cups blueberries

Extra sugar for sprinkling, cinnamon optional

Preheat the oven to 375 F, and grease cups and top of a 12-cup muffin tin. Cream together the butter and sugar till fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and stir in vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, and add to the egg mixture alternately with the milk. Fold in the berries, floured if they are frozen or damp. Spoon batter into the tin, filling more than half-full. Sprinkle the tops generously with sugar. Bake for 30 minutes. Test by inserting a skewer, done when it comes out clean. If using frozen berries, you may need to bake the muffins a little longer. Cool before removing them from tin.