Lemon Blueberry Muffins #recipe

In the beginning of the season Shae was so excited about her Blueberry Bush growing and giving off fruit, she talked about the food she would make and couldn’t wait each morning to go out and eat right from the branches.  That all ended when the birds found where I had moved it.  That was the end of the berries for us. Fortunately Rob has been able to pass a produce stand everyday coming home from work and picked up this HUGE container of blueberries for just $3.

I knew what I was making,  Lemon Blueberry Muffins with Brown Sugar and Almond Streusel. The recipe was adapted from a few I found online; tweaked, edited and made my own.

I’ve made these twice and everyone LOVES them.  The best part is the burst of fresh lemon flavor from the juice and zest.

Muffin Batter

• 4 cups flour
• 2  tbls baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 12 tbls cubed cold butter
• 1 1/3 cup milk
• 4 eggs (3 whole,  1 yolk)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• juice from 1 lemon (about 2 tbls)
• zest from 1 lemon (about 1 tsp)
• 2 cups of fresh blueberries (or frozen)

Muffin Topping

• 1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds (optional)
• 4 tbls melted butter
• 4 tbls flour
• 5 tbls brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  

Preheat your oven to 375 and thoroughly grease 24 muffin tins.

In a large mixing bowl of an electric mixer blend the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar for a few seconds.  Then add the cold butter and mix till butter resembles small pebbles.  In a small separate bowl add lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, eggs and milk and beat till combined then add to the flour mixture.

Mix till batter comes together but do not over mix.  Add blueberries and gently mix for a few seconds. You don’t want to break up the blueberries, that will make your batter purple.

Fill your muffin cups almost full.

For the streusel topping start with melting your butter then adding in the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix till crumbly.  Sprinkle on top of each muffin along with the almonds.

Bake for 19-22 minutes till golden brown.

Remove muffins from tins and allow to cool slightly before enjoying.

Tips while baking

• zest the lemon before juicing, it’s much easier this way
• don’t make the lemon and milk mixture ahead of time, you’ll end up with curdled milk if it sits too long
• omit almonds if desired
• batter should be thick, much thicker than pancake mix

These make a great snack, breakfast or even dessert.  Switching out ingredients is simple to come up with new recipes such as Cranberry Orange Muffins or Lemon Strawberry Cake.  I would rehydrate dried fruit that was already in our pantry for these pairings.