Homemade Blueberry Muffins

These are the most perfect, moist blueberry muffins that are packed with juicy berries and a hint of lemon. Almond flour keeps the crumb tender and light, and also adds rich flavor. Bumping up the baking powder and adding another egg helped those muffins dance beautifully over the rim.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Diet Low Salt

Keyword almond flour, blueberries

Servings muffins

Author Sarah Kieffer

Equipment

Ingredients

Sugar Topping

1/2 cup [100 g] granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Muffins

2 cups [284 g] all-purpose flour
1/2 cup [50 g] finely blanched almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup [200 g] granulated sugar
3/4 cup [180 g] buttermilk, room temperature
5 tablespoons [70 g] unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup [75 g] vegetables or canola oil
1/4 cup [60 g] sour cream
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
7 1/2 ounces [215 g] fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F [190 degrees C]. Grease two standard twelve-cup muffin tins.

For the sugar topping

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and the nutmeg.

For the muffins

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. Make a well in the center.
In a large bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, melted butter, oil, sour cream, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla until completely combined. Pour into the well of the dry ingredients and gently mix until almost all combined. Fold in the blueberries until just incorporated, as to not overwork the batter. It should not be completely smooth; there should be some visible lumps and bumps. The batter can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.
Scoop a scant 1/3 cup of the batter into every other muffin cup. The batter should fill the cup and mound slightly (using a scoop helps the tops mound). Sprinkle 1 to 2 teaspoons of the sugar mixture evenly over each muffin.
Bake until the muffins are light golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with a few crumbs, rotating the pan halfway through baking, 17 to 20 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then gently remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Muffins are best the day they are made, but can be stored in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Notes

*If your berries are out of season, adding a little "berry boost" can help ramp up the flavor. Combine 2 tablespoons [8 g] of freeze-dried berry powder, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon of water, a pinch of salt, and the blueberries in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until the berries are warm and coated in the sugar powder, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool, then swirl into the recipe where the blueberries are called for.

*The muffin batter can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking. To freeze muffins, wrap cooled muffins in plastic wrap and place in an airtight, freezer-safe container or plastic bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. The night before serving, put the muffins in the refrigerator to thaw. I like to heat my muffin in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds to warm it up a bit before eating.

*Throughout my recipes posted on this website, 1 cup of flour equals 142g. Please note that 1 cup of flour can range anywhere from 120g to 142g, depending on the baker or website. I found that after weighting many cups of flour and averaging the total, mine always ended up around this number. Weighing your flour instead of using cup measurements is the surest way to get the result I intended when developing the recipe.

*Different brands of flour have varying levels of protein, ranging from low to high, which can result in very different outcomes when baking. I’ve found Gold Medal all-purpose unbleached flour to be the best option for many of my recipes; I use it in all the baked goods that don’t use yeast.