Lemon Blueberry Streusel Muffins

I’ve blogged about my late Mom’s Blueberry Muffin recipe before. It’s my go-to blueberry muffin recipe of choice and a great frugal option because you can use fresh or frozen blueberries depending on the season. The thing is, it’s a pretty basic muffin recipe so to jazz it up a little I created these Lemon Blueberry Streusel Muffins.

I always like working with my parents’ recipes. It’s a great way of remembering them, and sometimes it feels almost like they are in the kitchen with me. I know Mom wouldn’t mind that I played around with her recipe. She really liked lemon, and although she might not have liked the extra calories the streusel adds, I’m pretty sure she would have found it delicious. Just a couple of minor changes have taken this from being a really good recipe to one my family asks for regularly.

You will notice I’ve used buttermilk instead of plain milk for these Lemon Blueberry Streusel Muffins. I’m doing this more and more with muffins and many cakes as it gives a lovely depth of flavour and texture to baked goods. Please don’t substitute sour milk for buttermilk in this recipe. If you can’t get buttermilk, just use 2%, whole or raw milk.

Lemon Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Streusel Topping
1 tablespoon cold butter, cut in cubes
1 tablespoon flour
5 tablespoons Demerera sugar (turbinado or ‘raw’ sugar)

Muffins
¼ cup butter, softened (unsalted for preference)
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1½ cups all purpose (plain) flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
(if frozen, do not thaw)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (170°C). Grease and flour or line a 12 cup muffin tin.

Make the Streusel Topping by cutting the flour and sugar into the butter with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

To make the muffins, cream the butter and the sugar thoroughly in a large bowl. Beat in the egg. Add the vanilla and buttermilk and mix thoroughly.

Into another bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the lemon rind and the blueberries, making sure the blueberries are all coated with the flour mixture.

Add the flour and fruit mixture to the wet ingredients all at once, stirring until just blended. The batter will be lumpy, but there should be no dry flour visible.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Using a quick release ice cream scoop makes this easy.

Sprinkle the Streusel Topping over the muffin batter.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Allow to cool a little before serving.

Store any muffins you have left in an airtight container and use within two days. If it’s very hot you may want to keep them in the fridge, but bring them back to room temperature before serving.

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