Best Blueberry Muffins with Almond Crunch Topping
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 27, 2011
Time
1½ hours
Yield
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients
Almond Crunch Topping
⅓ cup finely ground almonds 4 teaspoons turbinado sugarMuffins
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 ⅓ cup finely ground almonds 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 1 teaspoon almond extractBefore You Begin
If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk.
Instructions
- Stir together almonds and sugar in small bowl until combined; set aside.
- 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.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and ground almonds 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, vanilla, and almond extract 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.)
- 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 almond 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 tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.
for the topping
for the muffins
Time
1½ hoursYield
Makes 12 muffinsIngredients
Almond Crunch Topping
⅓ cup finely ground almonds
4 teaspoons turbinado sugar
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
⅓ cup finely ground almonds
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
1 teaspoon almond extract
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Almond Crunch Topping
⅓ cup finely ground almonds
4 teaspoons turbinado sugar
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
⅓ cup finely ground almonds
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
1 teaspoon almond extract
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Almond Crunch Topping
⅓ cup finely ground almonds
4 teaspoons turbinado sugar
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
⅓ cup finely ground almonds
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
1 teaspoon almond 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
- Stir together almonds and sugar in small bowl until combined; set aside.
- 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.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and ground almonds 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, vanilla, and almond extract 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.)
- 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 almond 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 tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.
for the topping
for the muffins
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