Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Who doesn’t love a classic blueberry muffin? I know I do, especially blueberry streusel muffins for some extra sweet crunchy goodness on top!
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The blueberry muffin is the most popular muffin in history. OK, I have no proof of that claim, and I’m too lazy to Google it to confirm, but I’ve always imagined it is. Blueberry muffins were probably the only ones I ate growing up.
Nowadays, I’m drawn to what I consider more interesting muffins—chocolate chip, red velvet, pistachio—but I think my former prolonged blueberry separation has made me love them again, no longer regarding them as the reliable, if not very exciting, standby. A buttery muffin filled with big, juicy blueberries is as delicious as it is classic.
I developed these muffins using my recipe for bakery-style chocolate chip muffins as the base and tweaking it from there. After some trial and error, I ended up omitting the brown sugar, thinking that, along with the blueberries, it might weigh the muffins down.
I also reduced the amount of sugar overall because of the added sugar to the streusel topping. The result is a moist, hearty muffin—the best kind—bursting with juicy blueberries and possessing a mild tang from buttermilk.
These blueberry streusel muffins make a great breakfast with coffee or tea. They also work as a tasty mid-afternoon treat. Furthermore, they freeze really well, helping to ensure you have muffins on hand whenever your sweet tooth kicks in!
Why You’ll Love These Blueberry Streusel Muffins
- They’re nice and big: If you love jumbo muffins, you’ll love these.
- They bake tall: A combination of double-acting baking powder, letting the batter sit for a few minutes, and an initial bake at a higher temperature helps yield that sometimes-elusive tall muffin top.
- They freeze beautifully: Stashing a few of these in the freezer is a good thing when you want a sweet treat.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cake Flour: This helps create a lighter and more tender texture than AP flour.
- Double-Acting Baking Powder: This helps add more height to the muffins.
- Fine Salt: Fine salt is preferable for baked goods.
- Unsalted Butter: Unsalted helps regulate the amount of salt.
- Vegetable Oil: You can also use canola oil.
- Granulated Sugar: This is for both the muffins and the streusel.
- Eggs: Use large eggs.
- Vanilla Extract: This adds extra flavor to the muffins.
- Low-Fat Buttermilk: This gives the muffins a lovely tang.
- Blueberries (Fresh or Frozen): I like to use large blueberries, but use any size you want.
- AP Flour: This is for the streusel.
- Dark Brown Sugar: You can also use light brown sugar.
- Cinnamon: This adds a spicy warmth to the streusel.
See the recipe card below for more information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Blueberry Streusel Muffins
- Mix the cake flour, baking powder, and salt: Use a small bowl for this and set it aside when done.
- Mix the butter, oil, and sugar: Blend them in a large bowl with a mixer until incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds. Blend in the eggs and vanilla extract, 10 to 15 seconds. Stir in the buttermilk with a spatula.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet: Incorporate only halfway into the wet ingredients. Set aside.
- Prepare the streusel: In a small bowl, add the AP flour, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Give it a light toss. Add half the melted butter and toss it gently with the dry ingredients until clumps develop. Add more butter if the streusel seems dry.
- Prepare the muffins: Add the blueberries to the batter and stir just until everything is incorporated. Don’t overmix. Pour the batter evenly into a prepared 6-muffin tin. Top the muffins with the streusel and top with more blueberries.
- Bake the muffins: Place the muffin tin on the oven’s middle rack and bake the muffins at 425F for 8 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350F and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes until an inserted cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
Pro Tips
Don’t thaw frozen blueberries: If you use frozen blueberries, add them to the batter straight from the freezer. Using thawed frozen blueberries could leave behind purple streaks in your batter. Streaks may still appear when you stir them in, but they shouldn’t be visible after the muffins bake.
Use double-acting baking powder: This helps achieve a taller muffin top.
Don’t overmix the streusel: You want it to be clumpy.
Use low-fat buttermilk: Non-fat buttermilk is too much like regular milk as it isn’t thick enough.
Suggestions for Variations and Substitutions
- Omit the streusel topping if you’d like. If you do, you might want to increase the sugar used in the muffin batter from 3/4 cup to 1 cup.
- Instead of making 6 jumbo muffins, as this recipe calls for, you can make 12 smaller ones or even minis. Just be sure to adjust the baking time accordingly.
- You can use vegetable oil and canola oil interchangeably.
- It’s fine to use light brown instead of dark brown sugar.
Recipe FAQs
Bake the muffins at a higher oven temperature—425F—initially, then lower the temperature to 350F to finish baking. That high initial heat helps the batter rise more quickly. Follow the recipe below for specific times.
You can, but I can’t guarantee results because I’ve only tested this recipe with blueberries. Berries seem like they should be easily interchangeable, but the reality is that a different fruit can change the texture and overall outcome of a muffin.
Yes, but the muffins will probably cook faster without it. Therefore, bake the muffins for less time than the recipe states, then continue baking if they need more time. You also might want to increase the sugar in the muffin recipe to 1 cup to compensate for the missing sweetness of the streusel.
Storage
Room Temperature
These muffins can sit in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Refrigerator
You can store these muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freezer
You can freeze them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 2 months.
Defrost
Defrost a muffin in the microwave for about 20 to 30 seconds on high power. You can also fully defrost it at room temperature.
More Breakfast Recipes
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Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- 2 and ¼ cups cake flour spooned and leveled (Note 1)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder double-acting, preferably aluminum-free
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (Note 2)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs large, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup low-fat buttermilk room temperature
- 1 and ¾ cups blueberries fresh or frozen, divided
For the Streusel Topping
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar tightly packed (Note 3)
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided, melted and cooled
Instructions
- For the muffins, mix the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.2 and ¼ cups cake flour, spoon and leveled; 2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder; ½ teaspoon fine salt
- Using a mixer, combine the butter, oil, and sugar in a large bowl for about 15 seconds. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and continue mixing until incorporated, 15 to 20 seconds. Stir in the buttermilk with a spatula just until blended.4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled; ¼ cup vegetable oil; ¾ cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; ¾ cup low-fat buttermilk
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and stir until everything is halfway incorporated (you'll stir it more later). Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- For the streusel, combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl. ½ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; ¼ cup dark brown sugar; 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- Pour half the melted butter (2 tablespoons) over the flour/sugar mixture and lightly toss with a fork until the mixture becomes clumpy. Don't toss or press the ingredients too much with the fork or it will turn completely pasty. If it looks too dry, add some more butter.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled (add more if needed)
- Prep a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan by spraying each cup with nonstick cooking spray or inserting liners into them. I highly recommend silicone liners, if you have them.
- Gently stir the 1 and ½ cup blueberries into the batter just until the blueberries and dry ingredients are incorporated and no more streaks of flour are visible. You don't want to overmix it. Pour the batter evenly into the individual muffin cups. Top each with some of the streusel and the remaining ¼ cup blueberries. Gently press the streusel and blueberries into the tops of each muffin to help them set.1 and ¾ blueberries, fresh or frozen
- Place the pan in the oven's middle rack and bake the muffins for 8 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350F and continue baking for 25 minutes. If they're still underbaked, rotate the pan and cook them for another 5 minutes. Test the muffins with a cake tester or toothpick. They're done if it comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs attached.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
