Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Moist, lemony, and bursting with fresh, sweet blueberries, my lemon blueberry muffins are jumbo, bakery-style treats made easy at home. Prepared with a touch of buttermilk and sour cream for a light, tender crumb, then kissed with fresh lemon zest and filled with juicy blueberries, this lemon blueberry muffin recipe—topped with sweet streusel too—is the perfect muffin recipe fit for berry season!

Blueberry Muffins with a Lemony Twist

Friends, just because it's summer and the temps outside are sweltering, it never seems to stop me from turning on my oven and baking up some really delicious goodies to enjoy with afternoon decaf or tea. Go figure!

When the fresh fruits of summer are plentiful, juicy, and sweet—fruits like nectarines, peaches, strawberries and blueberries—I just automatically seem to get a craving for baked goods brimming with them.

Whether it's my nectarine crumb tart, my peach galette, my blueberry scones with buttermilk glaze, or my strawberry oatmeal bars, I love a fruity dessert with a touch of tang and filled with the aroma of the summer season.

Seeing as we always have lots of fresh, sweet blueberries on hand (they're a fantastic source of antioxidants), it's simple to grab a pack and get creative. When the craving hits for freshly-baked and cozy treats to enjoy, a little something that speaks of the sunny season, I'm ready.

Since muffins are always a welcome treat in our home, I've had these big, beautiful, bakery-style lemon blueberry muffins on rotation lately, the perfect berry season treat.

Tender, moist and just like the bakery's (frankly, even better than the bakery’s), this lemon blueberry muffin recipe packs all the bright, tangy flavor I love in a summer-inspired treat, made super easy in my own kitchen!

My Recipe for Lemon Blueberry Muffins

When it comes to making jumbo, bakery-style lemon blueberry muffins, it's all about the combination of ingredients and the baking temp to help those muffins rise in the oven.

To create a light, moist and irresistibly tender crumb, I use melted butter in my batter, along with both buttermilk and a touch of sour cream for richness, flavor and added moisture.

I also add in a hefty sprinkle of fresh lemon zest for that brightness, and use a generous scoop of fresh blueberries for a juicy burst of blueberry flavor in every single bite.

And to keep things simple, I sprinkle over a light streusel topping, before baking, for a bit of texture and buttery flavor in each bite.

When doing the mixing for a muffin recipe, it's important not to over mix the batter. It's best to fold the ingredients together just until combined. This keeps the batter light rather than dense, and yields excellent texture.

And the secret to getting those bakery-style, jumbo muffins with the tall tops? Get your oven a little extra hot for those first few minutes of baking, to create that “rise” and help the muffins puff upwards rather than spread.

Here's a sneak peek at my lemon blueberry muffin recipe: (or just jump to the full recipe...)

1. To get started, I mix together my sweet streusel ingredients and keep that chilled while I prep the muffin batter.
2. To prep my batter, I whisk together the dry ingredients and set those aside. I whisk together the wet ingredients, and then add the wet to the dry ingredients. I use a rubber spatula to fold everything together, just until combined.
3. Next, I toss my blueberries with a touch of flour to help keep them from sinking into the batter, and then fold them in very gently, just until combined.
4. Then, I spoon the batter into the jumbo muffin tins and top with the sweet streusel. (As an alternative, you can use a regular size muffin tin with a 12 muffin capacity)
5. I bake the muffins at 425° for 8 minutes, then reduce to 350° for the remainder of the bake time.
6. When baked to perfection, I allow the muffins to cool to room temp before enjoying.

Recipe

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

These moist lemon blueberry muffins with sweet streusel are big, bakery-style muffins bursting with juicy berries and the flavor of lemon!

Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Yield: 6 jumbo blueberry muffins (or 12 regular muffins)

Nutrition Info: 540 calories (per jumbo lemon blueberry muffin)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 28 minutes
Total time: 43 minutes

Lemon Blueberry Muffins Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cup flour, plus 1 scant tablespoon to toss with blueberries
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
• ½ cup buttermilk, room temp
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
• 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar, for sprinkling over tops (optional)

Sweet Streusel Ingredients:

• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted, melted butter
• ¼ cup flour
• Pinch salt

Preparation:

1. Begin by gathering and prepping all of your streusel topping ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
2. To prepare the streusel topping, combine the sugar with the melted butter using a fork. Then, add in the flour and pinch of salt, and mix together until a moist crumble forms, like the consistency of wet sand. Place into fridge to keep cold.
3. Preheat the oven to 425°, and mist a jumbo muffin tin (with 6 wells) with cooking spray, or line with muffin paper cups.
4. Next, gather and prep all of your muffin ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
5. To prepare the muffins, add the 1 ¾ cups flour, the sugar, the baking powder, salt and lemon zest to a large bowl, and whisk together. Set aside.
6. In another medium size bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, sour cream, vanilla and melted butter until smooth, Add these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and gently fold together just until barely mixed.
7. Toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 scant tablespoon of flour and add them into the batter, then gently fold those in just until combined, taking care not the over mix the muffin batter.
8. Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin tins, sprinkle each with the streusel topping, and bake at 425° for 8 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 350°, and bake for additional 20 minutes, until baked through, making for a total of 28 minutes. (I like to turn my tin half-way through baking.)
9. While the muffins are hot, sprinkle over a small amount of the turbinado sugar over each (if using). Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 to 10 minutes, then gently remove and allow to cool before enjoying.

Tips & Tidbits for my Lemon Blueberry Muffin recipe:

• Fresh blueberries for the juiciest burst of fruit: Nothing beats fresh blueberries in these lemon blueberry muffins. Since blueberries are available pretty much year round, opt for those if you can. In a pinch, you can sub frozen blueberries, just don't thaw them. You'll still toss them with that small amount of flour (as per the recipe), but really take care not the smash them when folding into the batter, or the batter will become very purple.
• A good pinch of lemon zest for bright flavor: I like to go a bit generous with the lemon zest in these muffins, as this flavor partnership is just really delicious. The lemon and berries balance each other really nicely, and bring a touch of tangy, bright flavor to the sweet muffins.
• Sweet streusel topping for crisp texture on top: While you could totally skip the streusel and still have these lemon blueberry muffins be utterly mouthwatering, it does add a nice bit of texture to these moist, tender muffins, along with a touch more buttery flavor. It's just a really nice, simple, light topping for these.
• Start the oven at a higher temp for tall, baker-style looking muffins: The secret to those jumbo, tall muffins you get from the bakery or cafe is that the oven is cranked to a higher initial temp to create “rise”, then lowered after a few minutes to finish baking. This helps to “lift” the muffins upward quickly in the beginning, rather than having them spread at a lower temp.

Craving more fruity desserts? Check out my recipe for Blueberry Bars, Blueberry Scones with Buttermilk Glaze, Strawberry Oatmeal Bars, Apricot Sugar Cookie Pies, Cherry Turnovers, my Nectarine Crumb Tart recipe, or even my Berry Crisp recipe!