blueberry mini muffins

My mom requested "breakfast" late last week, since we ran out of bread, her usual staple. I still had buttermilk left over from the cupcakes order and decided to make muffins. She picked up some blueberries on the way home for me. I originally wanted to make apricot blueberry muffins, a Starbucks creation that they removed from their array of baked goods quite a while ago. They were my favorite, but unfortunately, apricots were not available at the market. So, just plain blueberry these became.

I've learned that using fresh blueberries is really important. I made something similar last year with frozen ones, and they turned a bit green, according to my friend A. The fresh blueberries stayed perfectly blue this time around, something I definitely want. The recipe was something that I melded from two recipes from my Williams Sonoma Baking Book. The sugary, nutty, crumbly top was for A., who got a tasting sample. It totally added a nice dimension to the spongy and moist muffin.

Probably my favorite blueberry muffin attempt so far. They were packaged and went on a plane with my mom for her vacation. Please note: don't seal the packaging cover, because the topping will get soggy and lose its crumbly texture.

Blueberry Mini Muffins adapted
please excuse the weird measurements, I halved the original recipe

makes about 16 mini muffins

For the topping:
1/6 cup sugar
1/6 cup golden brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp AP flour
1 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

For the muffins:
1 cup AP flour
3/8 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 large egg, beaten
2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375. Line mini muffin pan.

Topping: in small bowl, stir together sugars and flour. Cut the butter into the mixture, forming course crumbs. Add walnuts and stir to combine.

Muffins: in a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the center and add the egg, melted butter, and buttermilk. Stir until just evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy, don't over mix. Fold in blueberries until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes.

Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling just to the brim. Sprinkle each muffin with some of the topping, dividing evenly.

Bake until golden and springy to the touch, about 12 minutes. Toothpick inserted should come out clean. Transfer to wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.