The mid 1980s saw heated debate in the De Gustibus column of the New York times. Who made the best blueberry muffins in Boston? The Ritz-Carlton or Gilchrist’s department store? In keeping with our department store theme, I favored Gilchrist’s, even though they are defunct.  (Great word, defunct!) Yesterday I discovered yet another defunct department store: Jordan Marsh. Of course, they made marvelous blueberry muffins and of course I adapted the recipe, cutting the sugar and adding nuts. I made some for my neighbors. (Felt terribly virtuous carrying the plate up the hill in my mask). They were declared “fantastic, especially the nuts.” Yippee! Here it is:

Preheat to 375

Blend until smooth:

½ cup soft butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl, mix:

2 cups flour

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

Add the creamy blend to the dry ingredients, stirring them in along with:

½ cup milk

Before you fold in:

2 cups blueberries picked on a south-facing hill during a light rainstorm

Take ½ cup of the berries, crush them with a fork, and mix into the batter

NOW, fold in the whole berries. Gently. No, 2 cups is not too much.

Add:

1 cup walnuts

Spoon the mix into your muffin cups, filling them to within ¾ inch of the top.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

I cooked these in an extra-large muffin tin and ended up with eight. (Six disappeared before I could get out the camera.) I guess in a standard tin it’ll make twelve.