Do you need all the butter?

I'm not a baker, so I wasn't sure of the answer to this. I've always suspected that the more butter one uses the better (or buttery-er) the end product, but I'm not a butter fan. I rarely use it when cooking, though of course baking is different. When I ran across this recipe for blueberry sour cream muffins using only 1 tablespoon of butter, I was skeptical to say the least (so skeptical that I used 2 tablespoons).

When my brother and I were little, we loved the after dinner treats my mother made us. They could be as simple as peanut butter and jelly on crackers or as unexpected as muffins (because who wanted to bake after cooking an entire meal?). She often made blueberry muffins, which we'd eat warm and slathered with butter and honey. That's how I ate these--sans the slathering of butter, but definitely with the honey.

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins
courtesy of cooks.com

1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. soft butter (I used 2).
1 egg, beaten
1 c. sour cream
1 c. fresh blueberries
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Mix sugar and butter then add beaten eggs and sour cream. Mix and then add the rest of the ingredients. Add the blueberries last. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (23 was perfect).
If using frozen blueberries, bake 5-10 minutes longer. Yields 12 large or 18 medium muffins.

I guess it was the sour cream that did the trick, because these were moist as can be, and just as good as I remember my mom's being.