Best Blueberry Muffins

a blueberry muffin with a crumb topping on a flowered China plate

The best basic Blueberry Muffin recipe. Your choice between a lemon sugar or a streusel topping!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Cool Time 10

Total Time 1 5

Servings muffins

Calories 397kcal

Author Meghan

Ingredients

For the Lemon Sugar Topping:

½ cup sugar 2 ⅓ ounces
1 ½ teaspoons finely grated lemon zest from 1 lemon

For the Streusel Topping:

3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
pinch of table salt
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour 3 ½ ounces
5 tablespoons warm, melted unsalted butter

For the Jam:

1 cup fresh blueberries, picked over, about 5 ounces see note below if using frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon sugar

For the Muffins:

2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour 12 ½ ounces
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 ⅛ cups sugar 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly ½ stick
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk see note below
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries, picked over, about 5 ounces see note below if using frozen blueberries

Instructions

Make the Topping:

For the Lemon Sugar Topping: stir together sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl until combined; set aside.
½ cup sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated lemon zest from 1 lemon
For the Streusel Topping: combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, a pinch of table salt, and ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour in a small bowl. Drizzle with 5 tablespoons warm, melted unsalted butter and toss with a fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout.
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, pinch of table salt, ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour, 5 tablespoons warm, melted unsalted butter

Make the Jam:

Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes.
1 cup fresh blueberries, picked over, about 5 ounces, 1 teaspoon sugar
Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the muffin batter.

Make the Muffins:

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat to 425°F. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Use cupcake liners if desired.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl, set aside.
2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour, 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon table salt
In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk remaining 1 ⅛ cups sugar and eggs together until thick and homogenous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined.
1 ⅛ cups sugar, 2 large eggs, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Using a rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. Batter will be very lumpy with a few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.
1 cup fresh blueberries, picked over, about 5 ounces
Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly.
Spoon a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into the center of each mound of batter. Using a chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion.
Sprinkle lemon sugar or streusel topping evenly over muffins.
Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin pan for 5 minutes, then transfer too wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

To use frozen blueberries: substitute 2 cups frozen blueberries for fresh. Cook 1 cup berries as directed under "Make the Jam" section. Rinse remaining 1 cup berries under cold water and dry well. In step 4 under "Make the Muffins" section, toss dried berries in flour mixture before adding egg mixture.

If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute ¾ cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with ¼ cup milk. Alternatively, make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1 cup of milk.

Source: Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

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