Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Lemon blueberry muffins have always been one of my favorite breakfast treats! From the time I was a little girl, to making welcome baskets for guests at my former inn, to leisurely weekend mornings now, blueberry muffins for breakfast are my favorite. This recipe is not only easy to make, but the crumble topping gives them a sweet cruncy texture reminiscent of the kind of muffins you’d find at a cafe or bakery. Of course, you can skip the crumble topping if you want them to be a little lighter in calories. But I love the sweet indulgence on a weekend morning. Ready to start baking? You can hit the “jump to recipe” button or scroll through step-by-step photos and baking tips below.

Fresh Blueberries vs Frozen Blueberries

After visiting a local Florida blueberry u-pick farm, we came home with blueberries by the bucketful! To use up our bounty of berries, I’ve been a bit obsessed with making everything from barley pancakes with blueberry sauce to lemon and blueberry farro salad. 

And now, I kinda want to live on a blueberry farm. My husband Pete says we should start with a row of blueberry bushes in our suburban yard first, just to make sure I like it (I’m pretty sure I will), before we purchase some acerage. I’ll have to let you know how that gardening project goes. In the meantime, this recipe for lemon blueberry muffins is a tangy twist on a breakfast classic, and the sweet crumble and puffed up dome top make them a delicious bakery-style dessert too.

Can you use frozen berries for making blueberry muffins? Yes, you can! And there is no need to thaw the blueberries before baking. If you can find the smaller, wild Maine blueberries in the frozen foods section at your local grocer, those have the best texture and flavor for baking. 

Tips For Picking The Best Fresh Blueberries For Baking

I’m all out of my own hand-picked berries, but I’ve been enjoying the bounty of blueberries coming down from the northeast this summer. Here’s a little tip about selecting blueberries for muffins — A pint is roughly a cup and a half of berries. You’ll only need a cup of berries for the recipe below, so while you rinse them, go through and select the smallest ones. The smallest berries hold up to baking much better than the big quarter-sized blueberries. The smaller berries are typically more tart, so when you bake them they sweeten up and have a more intense blueberry flavor.

Tips For Baking Lemon Blueberry Muffins

• Pick the smallest berries for the best flavor when baking.
• No fresh berries? No problem! You can also use frozen blueberries. And there is no need to thaw them. If you can find the smaller, wild Maine blueberries in the frozen foods section at your local grocer, those are great for baking lemon blueberry muffins.
• Zest the lemon directly in the sugar, and then massage the zest into the sugar with your hands to pull out more flavor from the lemon oil.
• To save on dishes to clean up, use the same liquid measuring cup (like these made by Pyrex) for the oil, milk, and even beating the eggs.
• A pastry cutter (dough blender) is a time-saver when it comes to making crumble topping.
• Foil baking cups are easiest to peel off baked muffins, plus they hold their color and design if you’re baking these lemon blueberry muffins for a special occasion like Mother’s Day brunch.
• Hand mix only! Using an electric mixer will overmix the batter and result in flat muffin tops.

Lemon Blueberry Muffin Recipe: Step-By-Step

This muffin recipe is pretty easy once you have all of your ingredients together. Here’s a list of what you’ll need to make lemon blueberry muffins:

Lemon Blueberry Muffin Recipe Ingredients

• all-purpose flour
• white sugar
• salt
• baking powder
• vegetable oil
• eggs
• lemons
• lemon juice
• milk
• blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• butter

How To Make Crumb Topping For Muffins

Start by making your crumb topping by mixing together the 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and 1/2 stick of butter with a fork or pastry cutter.

Once the butter is blended in with the flour and sugar, it will have a small round pea shape. Place in the refrigerator to keep cool until ready to use.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and line muffin tin with muffin liners. Whisk together the dry ingredients (2 cups of flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder) in a medium bowl.

Zest two lemons over the whisked dry ingredients. I try and get all the zest off of two lemons.

Once you’ve zested the lemons, cut them in half, and then squeeze juice into a separate bowl or cup. Measure out two tablespoons of lemon juice and add that to flour mixture.

Add milk, oil, and beaten eggs to flour mixture and blend ingredients using a fork or spoon (do not use a hand mixer or Kitchenaid stand, this will make your muffins tough and keep them from rising)

After wet ingredients are blended in, gently fold in the blueberries.

Finally, spoon batter into muffin cups.

Then, take the crumb topping out of the refrigerator and sprinkle onto each of the muffins with spoon.

Bake lemon blueberry muffins at 400F for 20-25 minutes.

Let them cool for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy!

 

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Originally posted in 2018. Updated 2023.