Blueberry Muffins with Sugar Topping
These blueberry muffins with sugar topping are made with plenty of blueberries, buttermilk, lemon zest, and almond extract and are finished with a shower of snowy sugar on top. Perfect for breakfast on the go, or an afternoon snack.
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray, optional
- 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 stick (4 oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch (13-mm) chunks
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold, well-shaken buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 (12-ounce) bag 12-ounce bag frozen blueberries (or substitute fresh blueberries)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Position the oven rack to the center position. Line a 12-well muffin tin with tulip-style paper liners* for a loftier rise or, if using regular paper liners, spray the top of the pan with nonstick cooking spray in case the muffins spill over.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, 3/4 cup (150 g) of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse several times to blend.
- Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles cornmeal, with no discernible chunks of butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract.
- Dump the contents of the food processor into the wet ingredients. Gently fold the ingredients until the batter is well blended with no clumps of dry ingredients.
- Add the blueberries, straight from the freezer if using frozen, and gently fold them into the batter with just 4 or 5 gentle turns of the spatula to avoid streaking the batter with berry juice.
- Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin wells, completely filling each well.
- Pour the remaining 1/4 cup (50 grams) of sugar into a small cup. Dampen your fingertips with water and work them through the sugar to make it clump slightly, like snow. Top each muffin with a generous pinch of this snowy sugar.
- Bake the muffins for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C). Continue to bake until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of each muffin comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes more.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 2 minutes (no more and no less!) before carefully moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. (If using regular paper liner, you may first need to use a knife to loosen the edges of each muffin from the pan.) Let the muffins cool completely before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 272mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g