Huckleberry Muffins made with wild huckleberries! These delicious muffins can be made with fresh or frozen huckleberries.
Wild huckleberries
Huckleberries are a wild berry that grow in the Inland Northwest. These delicious berries are picked by hand in very remote locations.
Muffins are probably one of the most consistent items I bake. I love baking them for breakfast or snacks and I will often use fresh or frozen fruit in my muffins. Huckleberry muffins are saved for special occasions because huckleberries are a tasty treat!
Huckleberries can be bought from local pickers at the side of the road but these berries sell for about $15 a pound or about $80 a gallon. When I was a kid I always thought I was going to make a ton of money by selling huckleberries. It never happened though. I just never picked enough to make it worthwhile.
While some pickers can get 4-5 gallons a day, I count it a good day when I get a full gallon. If my family comes home with several gallons, it's a really great day! Even though I thought I could make it rich by selling the berries when I was younger, I never sold any! I've never bought any berries either.
Instead, we try to make several trips up into the mountains and pick what we can. We freeze the berries to last all year long. These huckleberry muffins get made a few times a year along with huckleberry crisp, huckleberry pancakes and huckleberry pie.
Huckleberries resemble blueberries, but only in looks. Hucks range in colors from purple, to dark blue to red. They also range in size usually being much smaller than a blueberry. The taste of a huckleberry is pure deliciousness! The only way to describe it is a tart and sweet juicy berry. Really, the only way to know is to taste one!
Key ingredients
This section reviews the best ingredients and substitutions for this recipe. For an exact list of ingredients and quantities, check the recipe card below.
- Huckleberries - You can use either fresh or frozen berries. If using frozen, add the berries while still frozen. Do not thaw them first. Increase baking time by 5-8 minutes.
- Flour - Use regular all-purpose flour.
- Sour Cream - Adds a bit of tang and moisture to the muffins. Plain Greek yogurt can be used in place of the sour cream.
- Oil - Use a light-tasting oil, like canola or vegetable oil.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar is used to help sweeten the muffins.
Step-by-step directions
In this section, I share step-by-step photos, cooking methods, techniques, and a general overview. For detailed instructions, temperatures, and timing, check the printable recipe card below.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl
- In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, eggs, oil and vanilla
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
- Stir just until combined
- Fold in huckleberries
- Place in muffin tins
- Bake
I do not use paper liners when I make muffins. I prefer to spray my muffin tin and just add the batter. Paper liners may also be used.
Tips for making muffins
- Don't overmix the batter. Use a spoon or a spatula to combine your wet ingredients with your dry ingredients. Stop mixing as soon as your ingredients are combined. A few flour steaks are okay. You are going to be mixing a bit more when you fold in the berries.
- Fold in the berries with a gentle folding motion. You don't want any squished berries here!
- Always preheat your oven!
- Use a good quality muffin tin. If your tins are thin and you tend to get burned bottoms on your muffins, place muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake on top of the baking sheet. This will provide an additional layer and will help the bottom of your muffins from becoming burned.
- Use an ice cream scoop to get evenly sized muffins.
- Allow muffins to cool for a few minutes in the pan before removing them from the muffin tin.
- Continue cooling muffins on a baking rack.
- Store cooled muffins in a container for 2-3 days.
Frequently asked questions
I made these muffins with 1 ½ cups of huckleberries. If you are rationing your huckleberries, you could reduce that amount and just use one cup of berries. This is a great way to still get a yummy huckleberry muffin without using all your berries!
More delicious muffins
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my muffin recipes!
Huckleberry Muffins
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Muffin Tin
- Cooling Rack
- Cookie Scoop
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup oil (vegetable or canola)
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cups huckleberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl1 ½ cups flour, ½ cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, eggs, oil and vanilla2 eggs
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients½ cup oil, ½ cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Stir just until combined
- Fold in huckleberries1 ½ cups huckleberries
- Place in greased muffin tins or muffin tin lined with paper liners.
- Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 15-18 minutes or until baked through
Notes
- Don't overmix the batter. Use a spoon or a spatula to combine your wet ingredients with your dry ingredients. Stop mixing as soon as your ingredients are combined. A few flour steaks are okay. You are going to be mixing a bit more when you fold in the berries.
- Fold in the berries with a gentle folding motion. You don't want any squished berries here!
- Always preheat your oven!
- Use a good quality muffin tin. If your tins are thin and you tend to get burned bottoms on your muffins, place muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake on top of the baking sheet. This will provide an additional layer and will help the bottom of your muffins from becoming burned.
- Use an ice cream scoop to get evenly sized muffins.
- Allow muffins to cool for a few minutes in the pan before removing them from the muffin tin.
- Continue cooling muffins on a baking rack.
- Store cooled muffins in a container for 2-3 days.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
M Wells says
These are great! The receipe is perfect: delicious not overly sweet and you let the huckleberries shine!
Kathy says
Thanks so much! 🙂
Barb Huston says
I made these for a morning surprise for staff. They loved it and can’t wait for my next baking day, this Tuesday. I live in the interior of BC Canada and our hucks are in the high mountains about a 2-3 hr drive but so yummy.
Kathy says
What a wonderful surprise!!! We have to make quite a trek to get our huckleberries too, but I think that just makes them that much better!:)
Glad you enjoyed the muffins! 🙂
Thank you!!!
Lisa says
This was my first try at making muffins and they came out Great! The directions were clear and tips were very helpful. The only problem was keeping my husband from eating too many at once because they were so yummy. One note on huckleberries is that they also grow in northern New England. I picked mine in the woods next to Sebago Lake, Maine. Thanks so much for this delicious and easy recipe. ... Lisa
Kathy says
Thanks so much! Glad they worked out and thanks for the tips about the huckleberries...I thought they only grew in the Inland Northwest. 🙂
Bonnie Savage says
I grew up in northern Maine and don’t believe we have huckleberries there—there are wild blueberries however. I now live in northwest Montana and pick about 8 gallons or more a year for our freezer!!
Kathy says
I love filling our freezer with huckleberries! They are a coveted item! 🙂 Eight gallons is a gold mine! Huckleberries only grow in the NW United States and Western Canada.
Sarah says
I've made this twice now! So delicious!
Kathy says
Wonderful!!! Thank you for your comment! I appreciate it! 🙂
Natalie says
Great recipe! Thank you
Kathy says
Thank you!!! Is there something about the recipe that caused you to only give 4 stars? 🙂
Melissa says
Light, fluffy, and amazing. I was out of oil so I used melted butter, and I only used one cup of my huckleberries. Divine. I will use this every year. ❤️
Kathy says
Thank you!!!
Debbie Macleod says
Hi, sending this comment from Kimberley British Columbia in Canada. Made 2 batches of these delicious muffins today one with sour cream and the other with organic balkan 0% milk fat plain yogurt with fresh huckleberries I picked today in the forest that is next to where I live. I also added some lemon zest to add a little twist to the flavour. Both variations using sour cream or the yogurt worked well. I will be making these through out the summer.
Kathy says
Thanks for the information! Happy huckleberry picking!!! 🙂
Lisa A says
Hi, can this recipe be used at high elevation? 5100 ft
Kathy says
Hi Lisa,
I am at 2700 feet and I have not made these at other elevation. You might check out this information about higher elevation baking, since this is not my area of expertise. Good luck!
Kathy
Pam Robinson says
I live in Montana, and I make these all the time and they are perfect. No adjusting necessary. Pam
Kathy says
🙂
Vickie says
Can you use plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream?
Kathy says
Hi Vickie,
I haven't tried using Greek yogurt in these muffins, but usually it is a good substitute for the sour cream and should work fine. Let me know how they turn out.
Kathy
Brenda Brown says
Thanks for the recipe its been a great year for Huckleberries here in Canada and this recipe looks perfect!
Cheryl says
We don't have huckleberries around here. Not even selling in produce stores. But I'll buy a slice of huckleberry pie if I can find one when dining out! Our blackberries that grow wild everywhere around here are coming out now. I made two batches of blackberry muffins last week already! Different localities - different berry muffins!
Fred G says
Another great use of huckleberries.
David @ Spiced says
What a fun recipe, Kathy! I must admit that I don't know the first thing about huckleberries. However, now I want to go huckleberry picking! When I first saw the $40-50 a gallon, I had the same thought as you about making it rich. But now I understand why the price tag is steep. I'll have to figure out how to get my hands on some hucleberries as these muffins sound delicious!!
Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes says
I don't believe I have ever tried a huckleberry!
I think these muffins look so good - I am a huge muffin fan!
Valentina says
So wonderful you know of and have places to go pick these beauties. They're so pretty! And I'm sure so tasty in these muffins. Would love one i(or a few!) n the morning with my coffee!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
I'm pretty sure I've never tried a huckleberry Kathy! But they sound quite tasty and so do these muffins! Pinned!