The Ritz-Carlton’s Blueberry Muffins

By Marian Burros

Updated April 29, 2026

  • Craig Lee for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
About 40 minutes
Rating
4(4,571)
Comments
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This recipe came to The Times by way of Marian Burros in a 1985 article about the famous muffins served at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Boston. The hotel has been serving blueberry muffins since it opened in 1927, but in 1971, then pastry chef Charles Bonino set out to develop a better recipe. One of the city's best-known department stores, Gilchrist's – long since closed – was renowned for its version, so Mr. Bonino bought dozens of the muffins over the years and would analyze and and try to replicate them. He was never totally happy with the results, even if the guests were. Gunther Moesinger, the pastry chef who succeeded Mr. Bonino in 1982, again made more changes, swapping out shortening for butter, increasing the eggs and blueberries and reducing the baking powder. This recipe is an adaptation of Mr. Moesinger's recipe which results in a plump, crusty-topped muffin. They're best eaten the day they are made. (After this article ran, a reader wrote in to argue that the department store Jordan Marsh's blueberry muffins were the best in Boston, not these. That recipe is here, so you can decide for yourself.)

Featured in: DE GUSTIBUS; MUFFINS ARE A SPECIAL WAY TO ENJOY BLUEBERRIES

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Ingredients

Yield:15 to 16 large muffins

  • 3 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons baking powder

  • ¾ cup sugar

  • Pinch salt, optional

  • 5 eggs, slightly beaten

  • ½ cup milk

  • 5 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled

  • 4 or 5 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

  • Additional sugar for topping

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

38 grams carbs; 70 milligrams cholesterol; 253 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 9 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 170 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 15 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Mix all dry ingredients together. Stir in eggs, milk and butter; do not overmix. Carefully stir in berries.

  3. Step 3

    Grease the top of large muffin tins. Insert paper cups and spoon batter to the top of the paper cups. Sprinkle generously with sugar.

  4. Step 4

    Reduce heat to 400 degrees, place muffin tins on middle shelf of oven. Bake about 25 minutes, until muffins are golden brown. Remove from muffin tins and cool.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
4,571 user ratings
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Comments

S. Rose

I've made this recipe maybe one hundred times over the years - in season, I'll bake another batch as soon as we exhaust the previous one. NB: if you use frozen blueberries, it will take longer (is this obvious?) and yield less consistent results. This is a good recipe to cook in parchment muffin cups as they tend to stick to the paper ones.

lilian

They are very good. I also like them because they are not very sweet. I have cut the recipe in half and that gives you 12 regular size muffins plenty for us at home.

LL

Recipe halves beautifully. Instead of 3/4 sugar use slight 1/2 cup and instead of 5 eggs use 3. Remember re butter the recipe calls for ounces NOT tablespoons. Two tablespoons equal one ounce. Renders 12 regular sized muffins. I do not use cupcake papers as it tends to make muffins dryer. Also after cooling I wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and put all in large freezer bag. Great to have around for company - just take as many out as you need a couple hours before to thaw.

Becky H.

I planned on making these and then the Jordan Marsh ones to compare but I likely won't make the Jordan Marsh ones because I love these so much. I like muffins that aren't too sweet or cakey and these muffins perfectly fit the bill. Sweet enough to feel like a tree, not so sweet. it feels like dessert. I generally followed the recipe (rare for me, but I wanted to test it). Didn't have milk so used a mix of yogurt and water, which works well. like another person noted, the batter was really thick so I added an extra splash of water when stirring. Also added a touch of vanilla because I can't leave well enough alone. For salt, I used 1/2 t kosher salt and 3 eggs for the halved recipe. I also used frozen wild blueberries. I love that every bite was full of berries. I suspect these muffins would be equally beautiful with blackberries or even peaches. I mean this in the best way: these remind me of Jiffy mix muffins. I have fond memories of having those when I was young.

Emma

I actually had very fluffy muffins, I loved the texture. At first, I thought I added a cup too much of flour because it's so thick but they ended up great. Very eggy and bland though. I wanted to add lemon and vanilla but decided I would make it by the book the first time. I probably won't bake them again even with the modifications because at the core it's sooo eggy.

Klaudiusz Janczak

Delicious. I chose to bake these instead of the Jordan Marsh‘s ones, even though they have better ratings. Something about the history of the recipe and the Ritz made me want these. I don’t understand the negative ratings, comments of no flavour or blandness. People, you don’t want blueberry muffins, you ache for sugar. The only thing that I changed is the amount of salt. One teaspoon instead of the pinch.

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