Vanilla Crunch Blueberry Muffins

These tender blueberry muffins—our new favorite for family breakfasts—are topped with crunchy vanilla sugar. If there are any leftovers, warm in the microwave for 10 seconds. It tastes like it just came out of the oven.

Servings: 9 regular-sized muffins are 18 mini-muffins. Time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients

5 tablespoons salted butter
1/2 cup sugar
Finely grated zest from half a lemon
8 oz container of softened cream cheese spread —could use regular cream cheese softened or 3/4 cup of sour cream or unflavored Greek Yogurt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon Double-strength Mannix Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Mannix Vanilla Sea Salt
1 1/2 cups King Arthur’s All-purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (no need to defrost)
3 tablespoons Mannix Vanilla Sugar

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 9-cup muffin pan with paper liners or lightly coat each cup with nonstick cooking spray.

  • Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the sugar, lemon zest, cream cheese, egg, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

  • Whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt until fully incorporated. Gently fold in the flour, followed by the blueberries, being careful not to overmix. The batter will be very thick—more like cookie dough than traditional muffin batter.

  • Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with 1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar for a deliciously crisp, crunchy topping.

  • Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (other than a little blueberry juice!).

  • Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature. These freeze well.

Great recipes have a way of being shared and improved over time. This version was inspired by Smitten Kitchen's adaptation of an America's Test Kitchen recipe from Cook's Illustrated, ATK’s magazine.

Adapt for high-altitude baking: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking