In Good FlavorIf you like blueberries and muffin tops, you’ll love these muffins! They are moist, tender, and bursting with blueberries. Enjoy some for breakfast, snack, or dessert!
I love muffins from the grocery store bakery section. They have the biggest muffin tops that look like giant mushroom caps. While my muffins aren’t quite as colossal as those, they are the most delicious homemade blueberry muffins I have ever had! The muffin tops have a nice balance of height and crispy edges.
Ingredients needed for this recipe:
- All-purpose flour—fluff with a fork before measuring for accuracy.
- Butter—I use unsalted. Make sure to use room-temperature butter.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar—provide sweetness. Brown sugar helps to create moist muffins.
- Eggs—for leavening, structure, flavor, and color.
- Baking soda and baking powder—for leavening.
- Salt—rounds out the flavor profile. Without salt, the muffins might taste a little flat.
- Vanilla extract and almond extract—add flavor. Almond extract provides a slight hint of almond, which pairs great with blueberries.
- Blueberries—fresh, in season are best. If using frozen, do not defrost.
- Milk—I use whole milk, but low-fat is fine.
Recipe highlights:
- Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.
- Beat butter, granulated, and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat in eggs until creamy and fluffy. Add vanilla and almond extracts.
- Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating the first two additions with half of the milk. Blend until just incorporated.
- Fold in blueberries. Divide batter evenly between 12 lined and prepared muffin cups. Top with a dusting of granulated or sanding sugar.
- Bake at 425° F for 7 minutes, then 350° F for 15-20 minutes.
- Refer to the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
View the how-to video or save for later with this Pinterest Pin.
How to create muffin tops:
While many muffin recipes are delicious, they don’t always have great muffin tops. To ensure yours does, follow the below tips:
- Follow the recipe as written.
- You would typically fill the muffin pans no more than 3/4 full with batter. However, to create muffin tops, you need to overfill. This allows the muffin to spill over to create the cap. Don’t worry; there is enough leavening in the recipe to allow the muffins to rise and spread just the right amount. Divide all of the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
- Lightly grease the top of the muffin pan (even if you’re using nonstick). This step will allow the muffin top to lift off the pan with ease.
How to store muffins:
- Room temperature—store in an airtight container with a layer of paper towel under and above the muffins to absorb moisture. Keeps for 1-2 days on the countertop. Note the sugar topping will be absorbed when stored at room temperature.
- Refrigerate—store in an airtight container for 5-6 days in the refrigerator. I prefer this method as the sugar topping stays intact. The muffins firm up when refrigerated. Before eating, leave out at room temp for 15-20 minutes for the texture to soften. If you don’t have time to wait, microwave each muffin for about 10 seconds.
- Freeze—store wrapped in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature for 1-2 hours or overnight in the fridge.
Helpful tips:
- Measure correctly. Fluff flour with a fork before measuring. Don’t pat it down at any point. Run a butter knife across the measuring cup to level off.
- To produce tender muffins, do not overmix flour when adding to the batter.
- Use room-temperature eggs, butter, and milk. The batter whips up more fluffy and creamy over using cold ingredients.
- Start baking at a high 425° F temp for the first few minutes then reduce to 350° F to finish. The initial high heat helps jump-start the rising process and seal in the gas bubbles.
- Don’t overbake. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with some crumbs attached. They will continue to cook from carryover cooking while they sit in the muffin pan to cool.
- Cool the muffins at least 7 minutes before removing from the muffin pan. The wait time allows the muffins to firm up, which prevents the muffin tops from breaking during removal.
- Make sure to run a small, slender knife in between the muffin top and the muffin pan to loosen the muffin before removing it from the pan.
Recommended supplies:
(Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)
- An electric mixer—this Cuisinart handheld mixer has 9-speeds and comes with a storage case.
- Mixing bowls —this 5 piece stainless steel set has inner measuring marks.
- 12-cup nonstick muffin/cupcake pan. This one comes with grippy handles.
- Ice cream scoop to dispense the batter into the muffin pan, optional.
- Use a fork or wire whisk for blending flour, salt, and leavening.
- Silicone Spatula for mixing and scraping. I have and use this set all the time.
- Preheat oven to 425° F. Dampen a wedge of paper towel with a neutral oil. Rub onto the top of a standard 12-cavity muffin pan. Line the muffin pan with paper baking cups.
- Combine 2 1/2 cups flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium until wet sand in texture. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat until creamy and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add vanilla and almond extract. Beat to blend.
- With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the wet. Start with 1/3 of the flour, mixing until it’s about 66% incorporated. Then add half of the milk. Repeat. End with the addition of the last 1/3 of the flour mixture, mixing until it’s just incorporated.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the blueberries to add to the top of the muffins. Fold the remaining blueberries into the batter. Optional step: add 1 tablespoon of flour to the blueberries and gently mix before adding to the batter.
- Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Tuck some of the reserved blueberries into the top of each muffin. Dust with granulated sanding sugar, if desired.
- Bake at 425° F for 7 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° F and bake for 15-20 minutes (See Note *). Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with some crumbs (solid crumbs, not wet) attached.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in a muffin pan. Run a thin knife underneath each muffin top to loosen it from the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack. If the muffin tops are too delicate to lift, allow them to cool for a couple more minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- Makes 12 servings.
- *If using large frozen blueberries, you might need to add a few minutes extra of baking time. The large blueberries take longer to heat up and will cause the batter to cook more slowly in the center. Check for doneness toward the later part of the cooking time frame. Add more baking time if needed. To prevent over-browning, loosely tent the cupcakes with foil at this point.
- Use room-temperature eggs, butter, and milk. Using cold ingredients makes the batter more fluffy and creamy.
- To produce tender muffins, do not overmix flour when adding to batter.
- After more extensive recipe testing, the amount of baking powder has been adjusted from the original 1 tablespoon to 2 1/2 teaspoons. One tablespoon can cause the center to deflate slightly.
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Muffin Top Blueberry Muffins
Description
If you like blueberries and muffin tops, you’ll love these muffins! They are moist, tender, and bursting with blueberries. Enjoy some for breakfast, snack, or dessert!
Ingredients
Instructions
Video
Notes
Muffins, Blueberry Muffins, Muffin Top
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