Tender muffins, packed full of fresh blueberry flavor, with a hint of lemon and topped with your choice of lemon sugar, a crumble topping, or a lemon glaze. Pick your favorite, or try all three!
So here's what's up - I'm kind of giving you three-ish recipes instead of one this week because I honestly couldn't decide which version of these blueberry lemon muffins I liked best.
There is just one batter recipe for these muffins, but I couldn't narrow it down to just one topping option...they were all too good! So I just decided to give you all three and let YOU choose which one sounds best to you.
The muffins are fluffy & tender and just bursting with tons of fresh blueberries. They are sweet but not too sweet, and there is just a little hint of fresh lemon flavor. They're made with a combination of oil and butter - oil makes baked goods a little more moist, and butter lends a little more flavor - so by using both you get the best of both worlds!
They're also super easy to make - no mixer required! Honestly, the hardest part is deciding which way you want to top them.
The lemon sugar topping is a mixture of lemon zest and granulated sugar, and gives them a slightly crunchy top with a really fragrant lemon flavor. This is probably the most classic (and easiest!) option. You could also use a coarser sugar (like turbinado or sparkling sugar) for even more crunch!
The crumble topping adds great texture and sweetness. I also personally think it's the prettiest of the three, but also the messiest to eat! This option is Pete's favorite.
The lemon glaze adds a really lemony tang while at the same time adding sweetness & moisture. This option definitely bumps up the sweetness factor and makes the muffins a little bit more dessert-y.
No matter which one you choose, you really can't go wrong.
Or you can be like me and not choose, and just make one batch with all three options!
Thanks so much for reading! Be sure to check out the rest of our delicious breakfast (or, if these got your sweet tooth going, dessert) recipes!
Yummy noises await you!
Blueberry Lemon Muffins Three Ways
Ingredients
For the muffins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoon butter, melted (½ stick)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 1 large lemon)
Topping Option 1: Lemon Sugar
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar (or turbinado or sparkling sugar, if desired)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 1 large lemon)
Topping Option 2: Crumble Topping
- 3 tablespoon butter, melted
- ½ cup flour
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 1 large lemon)
- pinch salt
Topping Option 3: Lemon Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 1 large lemon)
Instructions
For the muffins
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a medium bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt and stir to combine. Set aside ⅓ cup blueberries and add 1 tablespoon of flour mixture to remaining blueberries, toss to coat. Set aside flour mixture and blueberries.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, melted butter and oil. Add eggs, milk, vanilla, lemon juice & lemon zest and whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined (do not overmix). Add floured blueberries and gently fold into batter until just distributed throughout.
- Line a muffin tin with paper liners and scoop batter evenly into 12 muffin cups. Top with reserved ⅓ cup blueberries.
- If you are going with topping option 1 (lemon sugar), or topping option 2 (crumble topping), do the topping step now. If you are going with topping option 3 (lemon glaze), proceed to next step.
- Bake for about 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the tops are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
Option 1: Lemon Sugar Topping
- Do this before baking! In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar with lemon zest. Sprinkle evenly over tops of muffins and then bake.
Option 2: Crumble Topping
- Do this before baking! In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, lemon zest and salt and stir to combine. Use your fingers to pinch together into a crumbly texture, distribute evenly over tops of muffins and then bake.
Option 3: Lemon Glaze
- Do this after baking and cooling! In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. When muffins are cool to the touch, spoon the glaze evenly over the tops of the muffins and let set.
Notes
I was wondering what to do w/ 2 TB lemon juice leftover from yesterday! Perfect. Thanks. They look really scrumptious.
Perfect! They are scrumptious, if I do say so myself...Pete and I each had one for breakfast this morning! 😋