Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins with Crumb Topping

Muffins are the cupcakes of breakfast time. Like the pancake, donut, cinnamon roll, and others, muffins, have managed to make dessert in the morning feel ok. And you know what? I am just fine with that!

These blueberry muffins are great to bake on Sunday to get ready for the week; especially to have a good start on Monday morning. I followed this recipe on sugarcooking.blogspot.com.

Crumb Topping:

• 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter 
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 of a teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of walnuts, chopped fine

Muffin Batter: (yields 14 muffins)

• 1 3/4 cups of all- purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 of a teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/3 sticks of unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon zest
• 3/4 of a cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk 
• 1 1/2 of a cup of fresh blueberries

I began by preheating the oven to 375 degrees and lining the muffin tin with paper liners. Next I prepped the crumb topping.

In a small saucepan, I melted 6 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Once the butter was melted I transferred it to a small bowl to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl I whisked together 1 cup of flour, 1/2 of a cup of sugar, 1/2 of a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking powder, 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt, and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped walnuts.

To the flour mixture I added the melted butter and mixed until combined and crumbly. I set this aside for 15 minutes while I started the muffin batter. I used my hands to squeeze the crumble together to form larger crumbs.

In a large bowl I mixed together 1 3/4 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda. I set this aside for later.

In the mixer bowl I creamed together 1 1/3 sticks of cubed butter, and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. That took about 4 minutes.

To the butter I added 3/4 of a cup of sugar until combined.

Next I added 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until incorporated. Then I added the flour in three equal parts and the buttermilk in two equal parts alternating between the two. I made sure to start with the flour mixture and to scrape down the bowl before each new addition.

To the batter I folded in half of the blueberries.

To assemble I filled each muffin tin 2/3 full of batter.

Then I added the remaining half of the blueberries evenly over the almost full muffin cups.

I topped off the blueberry layer with the last bit of the batter.

Lastly I crumbled the crumb topping over each muffin. I made sure to gently press the crumb topping into the batter.

I baked the muffins on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes. I rotated them halfway through. After 30 minutes the crumble was a nice golden brown color and a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean.

These blueberry muffins are a fantastic breakfast. They have the right amount of sweetness without over doing it so early in the morning. The fresh blueberries give you tiny bursts of blueberry flavor in each bite. The lemon zest comes in and gives some fresh flavor as well.

Topping the whole thing off with a delicious crumb topping is what will seal the deal on this morning delight!