Summer and muffins seem to go hand in hand, especially since blueberries are plentiful right now. Muffins bake fairly quickly with little prep.
Tip: Did you know? Tossing blueberries with flour before adding them to the batter will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin during baking.
Blueberry Nut Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins
chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle
For the topping:
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons nuts, walnuts, or pecans, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 Tablespoon sweet butter
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nuts. Blend butter in with a fork until the mixture is crumb-like.
For the muffin mix:
1/2 cup sweet butter, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon flour for coating blueberries, plus greasing muffin cups
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup pure cane granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup milk
Grease a regular-size 12-cup muffin pan with butter and dust with flour, banging out excess flour, or use muffin cup liners.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, use a mixer to cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla and orange zest to beaten eggs, then add eggs one at a time, mixing until eggs are absorbed.
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and milk in three stages, mixing until all are incorporated. Do not overmix.
Toss blueberries in a fine strainer with about one Tablespoon of flour to lightly coat. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. With an ice cream scoop or large spoon, place batter into muffin cups filling each cup to three-quarters full. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries on top of the muffins and divide the crumb topping over the muffins.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown. Check the muffins halfway through and rotate if the oven temperature is uneven. Test with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin; it should come out clean, or when touched lightly, the muffin should have a slight resistance to finger pressure.
Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove muffins from pan.
