Blueberry Muffins with crumb topping

I’ve made many blueberry muffins in my day, but I have to say, these are the best I’ve ever eaten, hands down. Maybe it’s because of the addition of almond extract, or maybe it’s because they use butter instead of oil. Or maybe it’s because I added a crumb topping to the recipe that’s so irresistible I plan to double it next time I bake it. For all these reasons, you have to make these muffins. The basic recipe is from a website called “Once Upon A Chef” and for once, the batter filled all twelve muffin cups, something that rarely happens with so many muffin recipes. So go get some blueberries while they’re still in season, and make these muffins. If you like, you can slather these with butter while they’re warm for even more deliciousness (my husband is a butter fiend), but honestly, they’re so good even without a pat of butter, you’ll be tempted to eat more than you should.

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Blueberry Muffins

Author: Ciao Chow Linda via Once Upon A Chef

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup milk, or more as needed
• 2 1/4 cups fresh blueberries
• turbinado sugar, optional
• CRUMB TOPPING: (I recommend doubling the crumb topping for even more joy.)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• scant 1/2 cup flour

Instructions

1. FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING:
2. In a medium bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon, salt and melted butter.
3. Whisk until combined.
4. Add flour, and stir until the flour is combined.
5. Set Aside.
6. FOR THE MUFFINS:
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and place oven rack in the middle position..
8. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
9. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
10. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar for about 2 minutes.
11. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each addition.
12. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
13. The batter may look a little grainy and that’s ok.
14. Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beating on low speed to combine.
15. The batter will be very thick.
16. Add the blueberries to the batter and fold gently with a spatula until evenly distributed.
17. Do not overmix.
18. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin (an ice-cream scoop with a wire scraper works well here).
19. They will be very full.
20. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar evenly on top of the muffins, or scatter the crumb topping over the tops of each muffin.
21. Bake for about 30 minutes, until lightly golden.
22. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
23. (But they taste so good when they’re warm!)
24. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin to free it from the pan if necessary (the blueberries can stick), then transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely.

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