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best blueberry muffins with steusel topping on a white plate

Best Blueberry Muffins

Meghan
The best basic Blueberry Muffin recipe. Your choice between a lemon sugar or a streusel topping!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Cool Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients
  

For the Lemon Sugar Topping:

  • 1/2 cup sugar (2 1/3 ounces )
  • 1 1/2 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
  • 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour (3 1/2 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:

  • 1 cup fresh blueberries, picked over, about 5 ounces (see note below if using frozen blueberries)
  • 1 1/8 cups sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
  • 2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces )
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (1/2 stick )
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk (see note below)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions
 

Make the Topping:

  • For the Lemon Sugar Topping: stir together sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl until combined; set aside.
  • For the Streusel Topping: combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, a pinch of table salt, and 1/2 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.

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 1/4 cup, about 6 minutes.
  • 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 degrees 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.
  • In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk remaining 1 1/8 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 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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Keyword blueberry, breakfast, muffin