Blueberry Almond Streusel Muffins

Course: Mornings

Cuisine: North American

Keyword: blueberry, breakfast, brunch, muffins

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 18

Total Time: 33

Servings: muffins

Calories: 287kcal

Blueberry Almond Streusel Muffins are tender, buttery muffins made with tangy sour cream and plump blueberries.

This version is an upgrade from classic blueberry muffins thanks to a generous topping of crunchy streusel.

Preheat an oven to 375°F.
Generously grease a muffin tin with baking spray or grease it with shortening and lightly dust it with flour.
For soft muffins, line your prepare muffin pan with muffin liners. For crunchy exteriors on your muffins, skip lining the pan.

Sift or stir together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and salt in a mixing bowl.
Set this bowl aside.
In a separate, small bowl, combine the milk, sour cream, and almond extract with a whisk until smooth.
Set this bowl to the side as well.

Use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to blend the butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed for 6-7 minutes.
Stop the mixer twice during this mixing time to scrape down the bowl and beaters.
Add the egg to the bowl and continue blending on medium speed for 3-4 minutes.

Sift a third of the dry ingredients a second time directly into the bowl.
Blend in the dry mix on low speed just until it's moistened. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters before proceeding.
Add half of the sour cream mixture to the bowl and blend it in at low speed, just until streaks of sour cream are visible in the batter. Scrape down the bowl once more.
Sift in another third of the dry, then the last of the wet ingredients, followed by the last of the dry ingredients.
Scrape down both the bowl and the beaters in between each addition. When it's finished, the muffin batter will have the consistency of a thick buttercream icing.

Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the blueberries.
Use a #12 portion scoop or a 1/3 measuring cup to scoop the muffin batter into the prepared muffin tin.
Tap the pan gently on the countertop to settle the muffin batter into the cups.
Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of the almond streusel onto each muffin.

Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin will come out clean when they are fully baked.
Cool the muffins in the pan, for 5 minutes.
Carefully transfer the cooled muffins from the muffin tin to a wire rack and allow them to cool further.
Serve these blueberry almond muffins while slightly warm or allow them to cool to room temperature.

Replace the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt.
Use vanilla extract instead of almond extract.
Make lemon-blueberry muffins by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (or 1 teaspoon lemon extract) to the wet ingredients.
Replace the blueberries with raspberries.
Use frozen blueberries that have been thawed and strained of excess juice.
You can omit the almond streusel topping if you don't have the time or desire to make any.

The more you mix flour, the more gluten will develop and the tougher the muffins will be.
A portion scoop is the easiest way to get muffins that are equal in size.
The muffins are ready to come out of the oven when the surface bounces back when pressed with your fingertips. Be sure to press the surface of the muffin and not a clump of streusel.
For moist muffins, be sure not to over-bake them!

Store leftover blueberry muffins in an airtight container or food storage bag at room temperature for 2-3 days.
To give thawed (or day-old) muffins a freshly-baked taste, heat them in the microwave for 15 seconds.

You can freeze the muffin batter after mixing it for up to 6 months. Transfer the batter to a freezer-safe container with a lid and store it in the freezer. Thaw the muffin batter overnight in the refrigerator before scooping and baking it.
You can freeze blueberry muffins after you bake and cool them. Transfer the cool muffins to a freezer-safe container and store them for up to 3 months.
Thaw frozen muffins covered at room temperature.