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Best Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on October 27, 2011

Time

1½ hours

Yield

Makes 12 muffins

Best Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

3 tablespoons granulated sugar 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar Pinch table salt ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and warm

Muffins

2 cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces/283 grams), picked over1 ⅛ cups sugar (8 ounces/227 grams) plus 1 teaspoon2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 ½ ounces/354 grams)2 ½ teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon table salt 2 large eggs 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (½ stick)¼ cup vegetable oil 1 cup buttermilk (see note)1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Before You Begin

If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk.

Instructions

    for the topping

  1. Stir together sugar, brown sugar, salt, and flour in small bowl until combined. Drizzle with warm butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Set aside.
  2. for the muffins

  3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in 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. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)
  5. Following photos below, use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over muffins.
  6. 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 tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.
Best Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

Best Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

1½ hours

Yield

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Pinch table salt
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and warm

Muffins

2 cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces/283 grams), picked over
1 ⅛ cups sugar (8 ounces/227 grams) plus 1 teaspoon
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 ½ ounces/354 grams)
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (½ stick)
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Pinch table salt
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and warm

Muffins

2 cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces/283 grams), picked over
1 ⅛ cups sugar (8 ounces/227 grams) plus 1 teaspoon
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 ½ ounces/354 grams)
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (½ stick)
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Pinch table salt
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and warm

Muffins

2 cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces/283 grams), picked over
1 ⅛ cups sugar (8 ounces/227 grams) plus 1 teaspoon
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 ½ ounces/354 grams)
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (½ stick)
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We didn’t want the fruit in our blueberry muffin recipe to have the lackluster, watery taste so common in many other recipes. Cooking some of the berries in sugar and adding our cooled homemade jam to the batter along with fresh, uncooked berries gave our muffin recipe the best of both worlds: intense blueberry flavor and the liquid burst that only fresh berries can provide.

Before You Begin

If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk.

Instructions

    for the topping

  1. Stir together sugar, brown sugar, salt, and flour in small bowl until combined. Drizzle with warm butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Set aside.
  2. for the muffins

  3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in 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. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)
  5. Following photos below, use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over muffins.
  6. 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 tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

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