Big fluffy, moist and tender blueberry muffins with a crunchy streusel topping, like you bought from the store. The kind to sell at the bake sale.
These have an extra large muffin top, welcome only on muffins. Unlike store bought blueberry muffins, these are full of the blueberries you added.
Why do store bought bakery/restaurant muffins always taste better and bake up so big?
They usually have more sugar and oil than we tend to use in a homemade muffin, and a few other things for leavening and stability, which is fine because those are commercially baked and they need to last.
They are also made with larger scoops than we would usually use to make a modest home baked muffin, using larger baking pans to get that wide muffin skirt.
We don’t have those large and well seasoned muffin pans, but greasing the tops of your own pans and slightly overfilling will yield a generous muffin.
What makes a good blueberry muffin?
Moist, fluffy and fruit filled. I have used avocado oil for moistness, but you can use any neutral oil, and sour cream for the same as well as for reacting with the baking soda.
What else is so great about Blueberry muffins, or muffins in general?
They are a good source of happiness and comfort that you can hold in your hand and fits in almost any situation and goes well with many beverages. They freeze well and can be made decadent or on the healthier side.
The generous addition of some fresh juicy blueberries gives us antioxidants.
Neutral vegetable oil?
Neutral meaning a flavourless vegetable oil, not olive oil.
Why not butter?
I use butter in muffins sometimes, but I will use half butter and half oil, which you can do here. I like to use butter in baking because I like the flavour, but it doesn’t stay moist for as long and the texture is a bit more crumbly. I didn’t want that here.
Can we use frozen blueberries?
Frozen blueberries are very convenient and can also be used, but add while still frozen and give the batter a few quick turns before the batter turns a bit grey. A few blue swirls are nice though!
Streusel Topping
The streusel topping is made up of sugar, you could use brown, flour, butter and a bit of salt.
I combine all the dry ingredients in a food processor then transfer it to a bowl and rub it together like making pastry or biscuits. The purpose of this step is to get it to clump together a bit without being a solid mass, but you don’t want to just have crumbs on your muffins either. You can just combine the dry ingredients then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or a fork.
Set this aside and keep it cool until it is time to top the muffins and bake.
The Blueberry Muffins
Wash your blueberries well and pat dry
Combine the lemon juice with the milk and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients then gently whisk to combine.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the oil and sugar for about a minute and a half to come together.
Beat in one egg until it is fully incorportated, then beat in the next, then add the vanilla.
Scrape the bowl often.
Add half of the dry ingredients and combine lightly.
Stir in the milk with the lemon juice, or vinegar and the sour cream.
If you don’t have sour cream, you can just double the milk and vinegar. (Therefore 2 Tbsp (30mL) lemon juice or vinegar and 1 cup (250mL) milk.
Your batter will be a bit thinner, but totally fine. Sour cream is just a richer way to keep the muffins moist.
Add the other half of the dry ingredients and the blueberries on top of the flour and you can toss them a bit in the flour to coat a bit. This way they won’t sink as much during baking.
Fold everything in together. This is to reduce overmixing.
Remember that every time you take a scoop of batter, that is a bit of mixing!
Filling the Muffin pan
If you are using regular muffin liners in a regular muffin pan and you are using muffin liners, use non stick spray to coat the top of the pan, because the batter will spill over a bit to make a wider muffin top. This will help them release nicely.
Fill all 12 of the muffin pans full.
Top with all of the streusel mixture. If you would rather, you could just sprinkle 2 tsp of sugar on top.
Bake in preheated 375°F (190°C) oven for about 27 minutes.
Let them cool enough to handle. I used a non metal spatula to gently pry the edges of the muffins up to keep them intact. They may just pop off for you!
They will keep fine on the kitchen counter for a day or two, but do not cover them tightly or they get a bit soggy on the top. They freeze well, covered of course, and let them cool completely before freezing. They reheat very nicely in the oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 5 minutes, or I cut them in half and pop them in the toaster.
Blueberry Muffins like store bought
Ingredients
Streusel topping
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (70g)
- ½ cup all purpose flour (65g)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (57g)
- ¼ tsp salt
Blueberry Muffin
- 1½ cups fresh preferably organic blueberries (190g)
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour (290g)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice, or vinegar
- ½ cup 2% Milk (125mL)
- ½ cup sour cream (130g)
- ½ cup vegetable oil, I used avocado oil (60mL)
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
To Prepare the Streusel topping
- Combine sugar, flour and salt.
- Using a pastry cutter or food processor, cut in, then rub in the butter so it is a bit clumpy. Set aside to put on top of muffins before baking.
To Prepare the Blueberry Muffins
- Wash the blueberries well and pat dry.
- Combine the lemon juice with the milk and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a medium bowl, sift or gently whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the oil and sugar.
- Add the eggs one at a time, and vanilla.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and combine lightly.
- Stir in the milk with the lemon juice and the sour cream.
- Add the other half of the dry ingredients and the blueberries on top of the flour and you can toss them a bit in the flour to coat a bit.
- Fold everything in together. This is to reduce overmixing.
- If you are using regular muffin liners in a regular muffin pan,use non stick spray over the top because the batter will spill over a bit to make a wider muffintop. Divide the batter in 12 muffin cups. Fill all 12 of the muffin pans full.
- Top with all of the streusel mixture.
- Bake in preheated 375°F (190°C) oven for about 27 minutes.
