Huckleberry Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Wet Ingredients
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, well beaten
⅓ cup cooking oil
¾ cup milk
Melted butter, for finishing
Dry Ingredients
1½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
¼ cup sugar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
Additional sugar, for finishing
Produce
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 cup fresh or frozen huckleberries, thawed and drained
Seasonings
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Grease a 12-cup muffin pan or line with muffin liners.
Combine flour, ¼ cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, combine milk, vanilla, egg, and oil.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once.
Stir just until moistened. Don't overmix.
Gently toss the huckleberries with 3 tablespoons sugar and lemon peel.
Fold the berries gently into the batter.
Fill muffin cups about ⅔ full.
Bake for 20–25 minutes.
While still warm, dip the muffin tops into melted butter and then into sugar.
Huckleberry Notes!
A little piece of summer:
Huckleberry picking is one of my favorite Montana summer traditions. Every summer, I love heading out with my mom and dad to pick huckleberries in the Flathead Valley. There is something special about coming home with purple-stained fingers and bags of berries that we can enjoy long after summer is over.
Fun Facts
Huckleberries grow wild in the mountains of the Northwest, and unlike commercial blueberries, many prized wild huckleberries are difficult to cultivate on a large scale.
Huckleberries are related to blueberries, but they tend to have a more intense sweet-tart flavor, which is why they work so well in pies, muffins, jams, pancakes, and sauces.
Huckleberries are an important food source for Montana wildlife, including grizzly and black bears, so when picking, always stay bear-aware and leave plenty of berries behind.
How I Freeze Huckleberries
Gently remove leaves, stems, and debris. If the berries are clean, I prefer not to wash them before freezing. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid, about 2–3 hours. Transfer the frozen berries to a freezer bag, press out as much air as possible, label with the date, and return to the freezer.
If you wash them first, rinse gently and let them dry completely before freezing so they don't become one big frozen clump.
Tip: Freezing them individually first means you can grab exactly what you need for muffins, pancakes, sauces, or baking without thawing the entire bag.
