The Best Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Eli's Mom gave us a couple bags of frozen blueberries recently that had come from the Amish. I originally intended to use them in blueberry cupcakes, but honestly, we're always in need of better breakfast options than desserts. Nutrition-wise in the war between Muffins vs. Cupcakes, they are probably about even--but at least it sounds better to feed your children muffins for breakfast!

I came across some interesting recipes for blueberry muffins this morning...including one that called for 55 1/8 teaspoons of sugar. What in the world? Someone must've been terrible at conversion charts! I mean, what if you lost count?

The recipe I decided on just looked amazing and had reasonable measurements. As I was mixing it up the batter even smelled heavenly, a lot like frosting or a baked cookie. The taste? Equally impressive, especially if you're a blueberry muffin fan. I am not, and these were still mouth-wateringly delicious. The muffins are moist and cake-like without being too sweet, and are perfectly paired with a cup of coffee.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Yield: 1 dozen

Muffin Ingredients
2 cups (less if you're me!) fresh or frozen blueberries
1 1/8 cups plus 1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. water
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
4 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (I used 3/4 cup buttermilk and substituted 1/4 cup sour cream)
     *If you don't have buttermilk you can make your own by mixing 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of milk and letting it sit at room temp for about 15 minutes.

Streusel Topping
3 Tbsp. white sugar
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
5 Tbsp. softened butter (room temp)

Lemon Sugar Topping optional, I used the streusel instead
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Directions
If topping with streusel topping, combine all ingredients until mixture forms pea-sized clumps and set aside.

If topping with lemon sugar topping, stir together sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl until well combined and set aside.

Adjust oven rack to its middle position and preheat oven to 400.

Prepare standard sized muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray or liners.

Bring 1 cup blueberries, 1 Tbsp. water, and 1 tsp. sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mash the berries with a potato masher or fork several times and stir frequently until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced by half. This will take about 6 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 10-15 minutes. *Note: my picky eater complained that the uncooked blueberries were too sour, so if you have a sweet tooth I'd suggest doing this with all the blueberries, 2 Tbsp. water, and 2 tsp. sugar.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk eggs and remaining sugar together in a medium bowl until thick and well combined. Slowly mix in oil and butter. Whisk in buttermilk (and optional sour cream) and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup of blueberries into into flour mixture until just combined. (Batter will be lumpy, be sure not to over mix.)

Using a large spoon, divide batter equally among muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon about a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture onto the center of each mound of batter. Using a chopstick or blunt end of a skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter. Sprinkle streusel topping or lemon sugar topping evenly over muffins.

Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17-19 minutes. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, and then carefully transfer to a wire rack and cool another 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!