Blueberry Muffins

I guess you could say I’ve gone a bit blueberry crazy over the last few weeks, but I can’t really help it.  I adore blueberries and they’re only around for a short time in the Summer.  So at the first sign of them at the farmers markets, I tend to go a bit overboard and blueberry mania ensues.  Not that anyone’s complaining…I’ve gotten some pretty awesome recipes out of this year’s blueberry harvest.  And these wonderful muffins are a shining example!

I’ve started running again with my goal being to complete this 8k at the end of October.  I’ve always been a proponent of breakfast (hello, GRITS), but with amping up my morning workout to include running, breakfast has taken on a particular importance.  I used to go down to the cafe in my office building for a multi-grain bagel with light cream cheese but that can really add up (especially for someone saving up for a trip to the Amalfi Coast next year).  With that in mind, I decided I’d start making a nice batch of muffins each Sunday for breakfast for the week.  Not only would I be getting my carbs, I’d also get some fresh fruit…what could be better?  Since I had some blueberries from the farmers market, I decided to use them for my first batch of muffins.  Now I just needed to find a great muffin recipe.

Luckily I stumbled upon a fantastic looking blueberry muffin recipe on Food and Wine’s website, complete with a crumb topping!  The recipe was fairly straightforward and easy, so I was able to make the muffins fairly quickly.  And it helped that the Boy was willing to pitch in to help (he should…he was benefiting from this too).  Since the recipe made 18 total muffins, that gave us more than enough muffins to last for the week.  And after one bite, there was pretty much a bit of a rumble as to who would get to take the most muffins to work.  Oh yeah…these muffins were that good.  The recipe can be adapted for other seasonal fruit, so I believe I’ll be using it often throughout the Summer!

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping (From Food and Wine, February 2007)

For the crumb topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the muffin batter:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

3/4 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Either grease a 12 and 6 cup muffin pan or use paper liners.  Set aside the muffin pans.

Make the crumb topping first. Combine the flour, sugars, baking powder and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Using a fork, stir in the melted butter until a crumbly texture is formed.  Set aside the crumb topping and start on the muffin batter.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  In a wide mouthed, large measuring cup (or a separate bowl), measure out the milk.  Then add the canola oil, eggs and vanilla extract, whisking everything together.  Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until a smooth batter is formed.  Fold in the blueberries carefully.  Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the batter and pour it into a cup of the prepared muffin pan.  Continue doing this until all of the batter has been used.  Sprinkle each cup of batter with the crumb topping, covering the surface of the batter.  Bake the muffins for about 30 minutes or until they are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of one comes out clean.  Allow the muffins to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

These muffins store well in an airtight container (I used one of those reusable plastic containers) for up to a week!

Tagged as: Blueberries, Blueberry, Blueberry Recipe, Blueberry Recipes, Breakfast, Breakfast Recipes, Brunch, Brunch Recipes, Food, Muffin Recipes, Muffins, recipes