Blueberry Muffins With Streusel Topping: a Baking Attempt

I don't bake.

I'm not a great baker and most of the time I get frustrated with measuring everything.  Baking is a science, a very delicious science and I'm trying to teach that to my daughter who loves to help Momma in the kitchen.  We spend quality time together, get messy and eat the end product - what more can you ask for? Hmm, maybe some chocolate milk.

I usually do not have patience for homemade baked goods but baking something once a week helps.  I found this recipe here:

http://acooksquest.blogspot.com

*The recipe calls for melted butter when making a streusel topping, I didn't melt mine and the crumbles were great.

Muffins
2 cups fresh/frozen blueberries, divided
6 strawberries (I had some in my freezer)
1 1/8 cups  plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly ( I used Smart Balance Olive Oil Butter)
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1% milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Streusel Topping
3 T white sugar
1/3 cup flour
5 T melted butter (again I used Smart Balance Olive Oil Butter)

The recipe I used says to preheat the oven to 425, this was way too hot and my muffins cooked in less time.  Next time I make these I will cook them at 400.  Know your oven, 425 might work for you, just keep a close eye when baking these.  Line your cupcake pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray (I used my Misto).

In a small saucepan, add 1 cup of blueberries, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of water to a simmer over medium heat.  I added a few strawberries to the mix.  While it's cooking, mash your berries with a potato masher and stir frequently until the berries are broken down and the mixture is thick.  Remove from the heat and let it cool down about 10 minutes.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together into a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, mix sugar and eggs until well combined.  Mix in butter and oil.  Add milk and vanilla, mix.  Toss the remaining 1 cup of blueberries into flour before folding in the wet ingredients so that your blueberries won't sink to the bottom of your cupcake when baked. (Thanks to jessyratfink for this tip!)  The batter will be lumpy, do no over mix.  I always have the tendency to over mix.

In a small bowl, add sugar, flour and butter.  In the recipe I was using, it said to use melted butter but it did not look like streusel, it was a big wet mess.  So I used cold butter and crumbled the ingredients together until they were pea sized.  I forgot to take a picture of this.  Just think of sugary white peas.

I have nothing against people who use standard size muffin pans.  I should probably invest in a mini muffin pan.  I can't help but love the way a giant coffee shop muffin looks, so I sprayed my Texas sized muffin tin.  

Another thing I have yet to learn is to never fill a muffin tin to the top.  Oh well.  Fill each space to about 2/3 full.  

Grab your blueberry/strawberry drizzle and put about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons (less if you are using a standard sized muffin tin) in the center of each muffin.  Grab a skewer or a toothpick and swirl drizzle into the muffin.  Top each muffin with your streusel.  I had two strawberries left so I sliced them and topped a few slices on each muffin.

Bake your muffins until the tops are golden and firm.  The recipe says to bake them at 425 for 17 - 19 minutes but mine were done in 15, with a bit of extra golden goodness (my nose smelled it).  I suggest your check your muffins at 12 minutes and use your best judgement from there.  

Another problem I have is letting things cool.  Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack for another 5.
These things are great for breakfast ( I had half of one then exercised) or a great after dinner sweet treat!

Happy Eating!