Blueberry Muffins for Brunch

When Mike and I were invited to a friend's house for brunch this weekend, I perused the list of stuff others had already offered to bring: a fruit plate, an egg dish, peach cobbler and French toast were on the list. I figured some muffins would fit nicely into the mix.

Blueberry muffins are my favorite; really, who doesn't love them? They're a classic. I have a recipe that I've attempted several times, but they never turn out quite right, so I logged onto allrecipes.com in search of the ultimate blueberry muffin. I believe I may have found it. This recipe, called "To Die For Blueberry Muffins," has nearly 3,500 comments and 4.5 (out of 5) stars. That's about as solid a rating as it gets, folks.

And I was not disappointed. The crumb topping is crisp and tasty, and the muffin is light and moist. I think this recipe provides a great base that could be switched up with other flavor variations: dried cranberries and walnuts, perhaps?


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar*
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top:

Make crumb topping by mixing together 1/2 cup sugar*, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking:


Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

My notes

*Several commenters on allrecipes.com suggested using brown sugar instead of white sugar for the crumb topping. I tried it, and it was delicious, and I think it looks pretty, too. So I'll be sticking with that adjustment in the future.

This recipe only makes about 8-10 muffins. I doubled the muffin ingredients, and didn't fill them up all the way to the top, so I was able to get 20 out of a double batch. But if you double the muffin recipe, there is no need to double the crumb topping recipe -- the amount above makes plenty.

I used frozen blueberries, and thawed them for about 30 minutes before adding them to the batter. I thought they were fine, but if you can use fresh, I'm sure they'd be even better.