Blueberry Cream Muffins with Streusel Topping

I love these muffins.  I really do.  When I moved up here to the Pacific Northwest, I discovered blueberries.  That summer I wanted to bake these muffins over and over again.  Unfortunately, they aren't exactly the healthiest things in the world, so instead I look for any special occasion I can think of to make them.  The sour cream makes them light and fluffy, and if you have access to fresh blueberries (I pick them when they're in season and then freeze them to use throughout the year) the flavor is pretty much unbeatable.

Blueberry Cream Muffins with Streusel Topping

adapted from several recipes on allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

Muffins:

4 eggs

1 1/4 cup white sugar

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 cups flour

3 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Streusel topping:

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare muffin pan by lining with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat eggs with a wire whisk.  While still beating, gradually add both kinds of sugar.  Stir in oil, vanilla, and sour cream.  Mix until smooth.  Add salt, baking soda, and cinnamon and stir to combine.  Gently stir in flour. Stir until just combined; batter will be slightly lumpy.  Carefully fold in blueberries.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and cinnamon for the streusel topping.  Add the butter and mix using a pastry cutter or the tips of your fingers.  Mix until crumbly.

Fill muffin liners all the way to the top and sprinkle generously with streusel topping.  Don't worry about running out of batter.  This recipe makes 24 large bakery sized muffins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean with moist crumbs. 

Notes:

--If you're worried about the muffin batter overflowing in the oven, you can put a baking sheet underneath the muffin pan just in case.  I've never had that problem, but my dad (who lives at a high elevation) did once.  

--When using frozen blueberries, it's probably a good idea to toss them with a little flour before adding them to the batter.  Frozen blueberries will quickly turn the batter purple as you fold them in, so tossing them with flour will avoid that problem.

--When mixing any sort of streusel topping using your hands, try to just use the tips of your fingers so that the butter doesn't melt too much.  I learned that from Alton Brown on the Food Network. :)

Enjoy!

-Jennie