How to Make Blueberry Muffins With Streusel Topping

I've been on the hunt for a great blueberry muffin recipe for years now, and with this one, I think I've finally found it! These muffins are moist, fluffy, and PACKED with fresh blueberries, and the cinnamon streusel topping adds just the right amount of sweetness. The end result is a delicious blueberry muffin/ coffee cake hybrid that's sure to please your taste buds!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• For the Muffins:
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/3 c. melted shortening (Crisco)
• 1 1/2 c. fresh (or frozen) blueberries
• . . . . . . . . . .
• For the Streusel Topping:
• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 c.. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 c. butter (softened)

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper baking cups.

2. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, cream together the egg, milk, and shortening until well blended. Use a spoon to form a well in the center of the dry mixture, and pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix thoroughly, then pour the blueberries into the batter. Gently stir the blueberries into the muffin batter with a spoon or spatula just until moistened, to avoid crushing them.

3. To Make the Cinnamon Streusel Topping:
   Sift the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon together until well blended. Add the butter, and mix thoroughly until the topping resembles wet sand. It's okay to have lumps, as long as they're not too large.

4. Fill each muffin cup a little over half-full with the muffin batter. After muffin cups have been filled, evenly sprinkle the streusel topping over the batter.

5. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use frozen blueberries if you can't find fresh ones, but fresh is always better and makes better looking muffins.
• Be very gentle when stirring the blueberries into your muffins! If you aren't careful, the berries will break and your muffins will take on a blueish, greenish tint.
• Make sure you don't overfill your muffin cups, or muffins will overflow during baking.
• If you don't have paper baking cups, you can spray your muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray before baking. However, if you do this, make sure you pop the muffins out of the tin right after baking, or they will stick!
• Don't be afraid to be liberal when sprinkling the streusel topping over the muffin batter--the crowns of the muffins will expand, so what looks like too much before baking ends up being just enough!

[ccsteffen]

on 7/24/2009 thanks! just what i was looking for! 5*