Last Saturday my parents came to visit. Their train was late, and while I was waiting I decided to pop into this cute little bakery by the station for a cup of coffee. They always have a really nice selection of healthy(ish) baked goods, like oatmeal breakfast cookies and gluten-free scones. That day they had a big selection of fresh, fruit studded muffins…for $5 each.

$5 for one muffin.

It literally made me angry. Muffins aren’t even that expensive in the city! What, was it filled with Russian caviar? Was the high school student behind the counter going to shave black truffles over it before she shoved it in a paper bag?

I left without buying anything. Which is just as well, because the recipe I’m about to share makes the best muffins I’ve ever had, and it’s not going to cost you $60 to make a dozen.

Ever since we switched Owen to a “big boy bed” he has been waking up very early in the morning, usually between 5:45 and 6am. On the weekends, it’s tough to find things to do with him at that hour. Something I really enjoy (after making myself a giant cup of coffee) is making something together that we can have for breakfast. Lots of times it’s French toast or pancakes, but we also bake a lot of muffins.

The day after we baked these, Owen told his teacher at daycare that muffins were his favorite food. Yay! Parenting win!

This recipe is from Cook’s Country. I adapted it only slightly, swapping plain yogurt for buttermilk because that’s what I had on hand. I’m giving you the full recipe here, but I actually halved it and baked only six muffins.

Sometimes homemade muffins can be disappointing because they come out so much smaller than bakery muffins. That is not the case here. These muffins are huge and glorious, filled with pockets of tart blueberries and topped with a shower of brown sugar crumbs.

100% Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Servings 12

Author Lucy Baker

Ingredients

For the crumb topping

3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

For the muffins

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt or buttermilk, sour cream would probably work too
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries

Instructions

Directions

To make the crumb topping, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, salt, and butter in a small bowl and toss with a fork until evenly moistened and the mixture forms small clumps. Set aside.
To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Spray a paper towel with nonstick spray and rub it oven the top of the pan, to grease the part where the muffin top overflows.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the sugar, eggs, melted butter, and oil together in a separate medium bowl. Whisk the yogurt (or buttermilk) and vanilla into the sugar mixture.
Stir the sugar mixture into the flour mixture until just combined and no streaks of flour remain (the batter will be thick). Gently stir in the blueberries. Using a heaping 1/4-cup dry measuring cup, divide the batter between the muffin cups (they will be very full). Sprinkle the tops with the crumb mixture, pressing gently to adhere.
Bake the muffins until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, until they are set and you can easily remove them without tearing the tops.