Blueberry Streusel Muffins

My dance teacher had brought some blueberries to class the other night. There were so many that she let us take home the extras. (Having blueberries was much healthier than the candy that we sometimes have at dance. We’re burning lots of calories and we need energy!) There were about 2 cups of blueberries, which isn’t enough to make some things, but certainly enough to make blueberry muffins.

This is a streusel muffin, but it is quite a different streusel. In this case, the topping is simply sugar and lemon zest. This was a nice light topping. I love lemon and blueberries together. I used lemon oil in the batter, but you could also use additional lemon zest. Muffins are quick and easy to put together. The trickiest part of working with blueberries is to be gentle with the berries or you end up with purple batter. I’ve made purple blueberry muffins before, but I was gentle this time!

The recipe warns that the muffins will spill over the top a bit, and mine certainly did. They had a bit of an odd feathery look around the edges, and I think this is from the sugar topping. I wouldn’t skip that, since the topping gives the muffins a little crunch and makes them a little more special than your average blueberry muffin. They have a nice texture, crumbly and not too dry. My muffins are just a touch lopsided, but they are very tasty.

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups blueberries

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

¼ teaspoon lemon oil

¼ cup sugar mixed with zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 12 cup muffin cup with nonstick spray.

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the blueberries.

Cream butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then milk and lemon oil. Blend in the dry ingredients just until combined; do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, dividing it evenly. Sprinkle lemon-sugar mixture evenly over muffin tops. Bake for 25 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Turn out onto rack to cool.

Recipe from All the Best Muffins and Quick Breads by Joie Warner