Lemon Sugar Crusted Blueberry Muffins

I'm a Blueberry lover so when I came upon a blog that had this Lemon Sugar Crusted Blueberry Muffins, I knew I had to make them. OMG I love this recipe! I have to say this was a so what hard recipe for me to follow but in the end I think I did a great job! I was super excited when they were done and I could finally eat one. I had like 3 yesterday and 1 this morning. Yeah I think I'm going to turn into a blueberry by tonight! By far (I'm not just saying this, I actually mean it!) the best Blueberry Muffin Recipe I've made!

This recipe has just enough blueberries for the top and the inside of this muffin. You use half the blueberries for a jam that goes on top of each muffin and to top that off you add the lemon crusted sugar, which makes for a very tasty crunchy top. Need I say more? 

 It's important not to over mix this batter, lumps are your friends! By not over mixing this will help make a very moist muffin. Using a rubber spatula you can gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together. 

Look at how moist this muffin is!

Best recipe by far!

Lemon Sugar Crusted Blueberry Muffins

 Source: modified from Cook's Illustrated, Carnaldish.com

Ingredients:

Lemon-Sugar Topping
⅓ cup sugar (2 1/3 ounces)
1½ teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon
 
Muffins
2 cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces), picked over
1 1/8 cups sugar (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon
2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
2½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
2 large eggs
1½ teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note below)
1½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

 

For the topping:

Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.

 

For the muffins:

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries, 1 teaspoon sugar and ½ teaspoon of lemon zest to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes. Soak 1 teaspoon of lemon zest into 1 tablespoon of lemon juice while the berries cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Strain the 1 teaspoon of lemon zest of most it's moisture and add to the mixture -- discard the lemon juice. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon 1 teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.

Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 15 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Note: If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute ¾ cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with ¼ cup milk (buttermilk has the better taste though). Store leftover muffins in an air-tight container for up to 2 days.