These Blueberry Muffin Tops with a buttery streusel topping let you enjoy the best part of the muffin without needing a muffin tin or guessing if the inside is baked through. They're soft and cakey and are chock full of fresh blueberries.
The Best Part of the Muffin
A few weeks ago I was thinking about foods where you're really only looking forward to a certain part of it - the edges on a lasagna, the cheese on top of a french onion soup - and then it hit me: muffin tops!
Instead of making an entire muffin, we developed this tops-only recipe, because let's be honest...it's the best part. It's a simple method of creaming butter and sugar, adding in the other wet ingredients, then mixing with the dry. We folded in blueberries and topped each muffin top with streusel for that signature muffin top look.
Of course everyone thinks their own recipes are amazing, but these are seriously so good. They're incredibly light and soft, and just full of fresh summer flavor. These are something you'd find at a really nice bakery.
If you're looking to do some more seasonally-inspired baking this summer, try our Homemade Blueberry Pop Tarts or this Blueberry Baked Oatmeal.
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Key Ingredients Needed for Blueberry Muffin Tops
How to Bake these Blueberry Muffin Tops
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190˚C. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla until completely incorporated.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.
- Pour in the milk and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until a very thick batter forms.
- In a small bowl, mix together the blueberries with about a tablespoon of flour, then fold the flour-coated blueberries into the batter.
- Move the muffin tops to the refrigerator and let them chill for at least 30 minutes.
- While the batter chills, make the streusel topping. Add the butter, flour, and sugar to a small bowl and use a fork or your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Scoop out the batter with a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop. Don't smush it down at all. Roll the top and sides of the ball in streusel, leaving the bottom un-streuseled. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan, leaving about 3 inches on all sides between each dough ball.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes, until the very edges of the muffin tops begin to brown and the muffin tops start to become golden brown on top.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack before enjoying.
Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!
- Let the dough chill after folding in the blueberries. It serves two purposes: chilling the dough makes it a lot easier to scoop, and it also helps the muffin tops to spread less in the oven.
- Try to keep the dough scoops as tall as possible. If they get flattened out, the muffin tops will spread a lot more than an unflattened scoop.
- Get streusel all over the top and sides of the muffin top. Since these spread, even if the ball is completely covered (bottom excluded), you'll still end up with a nicely distributed streusel.
- You'll want your streusel to be pretty fine so it can evenly cover the dough balls, so use your fingers to sort of rub it into smaller pieces. If you're finding this difficult, add a touch more flour the streusel mixture and try again.
- You'll want to bake the muffin tops until the bottom edges start to brown. Another visual cue is that the muffin tops will start to become a bit golden, and the streusel will begin to stand out in comparison. If the bottoms start to brown before the tops seem finished, slide a second sheet pan underneath the existing parchment-lined sheet pan.
More summer baking recipes you'll love
We can't wait for you to bake these blueberry muffin tops in your own home! If you do, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you're cooking!
Print📖 Recipe
Blueberry Muffin Tops
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: ~10 muffin tops
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These Blueberry Muffin Tops let you enjoy the best part of the muffin without needing a tin or guessing if the inside is baked through. They're soft and cakey and are chock full of fresh blueberries.
Ingredients
Muffin Tops:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Streusel:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190˚C. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla until completely incorporated.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.
- Pour in the milk and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until a very thick batter forms.
- In a small bowl, mix together the blueberries with about a tablespoon of flour, then fold the flour-coated blueberries into the batter.
- Move the muffin tops to the refrigerator and let them chill for at least 30 minutes.
- While the batter chills, make the streusel topping. Add the butter, flour, and sugar to a small bowl and use a fork or your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Scoop out the batter with a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop. Don't smush it down at all. Roll the top and sides of the ball in streusel, leaving the bottom un-streuseled. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan, leaving about 3 inches on all sides between each dough ball.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes, until the very edges of the muffin tops begin to brown and the muffin tops start to become golden brown on top.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack before enjoying.
Notes
Let the dough chill after folding in the blueberries. It serves two purposes: chilling the dough makes it a lot easier to scoop, and it also helps the muffin tops to spread less in the oven.
Try to keep the dough scoops as tall as possible. If they get flattened out, the muffin tops will spread a lot more than an unflattened scoop.
Get streusel all over the top and sides of the muffin top. Since these spread, even if the ball is completely covered (bottom excluded), you'll still end up with a nicely distributed streusel.
You'll want your streusel to be pretty fine so it can evenly cover the dough balls, so use your fingers to sort of rub it into smaller pieces. If you're finding this difficult, add a touch more flour the streusel mixture and try again.
You'll want to bake the muffin tops until the bottom edges start to brown. Another visual cue is that the muffin tops will start to become a bit golden, and the streusel will begin to stand out in comparison. If the bottoms start to brown before the tops seem finished, slide a second sheet pan underneath the existing parchment-lined sheet pan.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Chill Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin top
- Calories: 237
- Sugar: 14.1 g
- Sodium: 161 mg
- Fat: 12.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 29.6 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 3 g
Gladys Caldwell says
Perfecto! Better than store bought. I used lemon extract instead of vanilla. Love the lemon & blueberries flavor. Thanks for sharing. Definitely a keeper. ❤️ easy
Paul C says
Can you use frozen blueberries instead?
Lexi says
The only reason I don't really recommend it here is because the batter has to sit for a while so they will start to bleed into the batter and may affect the moisture content. Fresh is best if possible!
Maddie says
Absolutely delicious!! We had to give it a bit longer in the oven to be cooked fully but they are so scrumptious! Wish I could show a picture.
Jen says
I didn’t have quite enough blueberries so I mixed in some raspberries, too. They are so delicious!
Alix says
This is scrumptious. So so delicious. My only baking expertise is chocolate chip cookies.
Next time I will so double the recipe. I made 8 big ass cookies.
Can’t wait to do it again!!
Lexi says
So glad you enjoyed!
Noshin Alam says
The batter came out way to thin and was very sticky. I tried adding flour to make it more manageable.
Juanita says
Will this work with fresh raspberries, without adjusting anything?
Lexi says
I have not tested it with raspberries, but it should work fine!
Kathy S. says
Super easy, Delicious!
Lexi says
Really glad you enjoyed!
Lilith says
Theres obviously something entirely wrong with this recipe. I Followed it exactly and I was left with a muffin sheet cake. The mix was way too liquidy after chilling and you physically cannot scoop it out and form it into balls. Something with the chilling time or ingredient ratio is off.
Lexi says
Hi Lilith, I'm sorry to hear you had trouble with this recipe. We have tested this recipe many times and have never had an issue with the mixture being liquidy. It it typically very thick, even before chilling. You can see in the process photos in the blog post as well as the video on our social media that it forms a very firm scoop before being baked. I wish I could provide more assistance, but as the recipe currently stands, it's hard for me to guess where it went wrong! Please reach out with any additional questions.
Sarah K says
Overall end product was very tasty - a few notes. Batter came out well after refrigerating, but after baking still came out extremely flat and crumbly. Also, make a little extra streusel topping, maybe 1.5x to make enough for the ~dozen balls the dough recipe makes.
Christine says
Is the butter in the streusel necessary? I have made a lemon blueberry muffin and use a sugar and lemon zest topping. Turns out great.
Monica Wyatt says
The step to add the lemon zest is missing.
Dina Weinstein says
Can I replace the flour with gluten free 1:1 four and get similar results?
Lexi says
Unfortunately I have not tried this recipe with gluten free flour so I'm not 100% sure!
Kaila says
Made the day after seeing the reel. I appreciate the rough carb estimate as i made these for kids with type 1 diabetes!
Added my own lemon oil to really get the flavour going. Definitely needs more than 30 mins to chill in fridge, much like any other cookie-like batter, needs at least 1. 5hrs or its too soft to scoop, shape and cover without it getting everywhere. Made 20 even muffin tops at 2x the ingredients. Cooked in 15 on 200fan for 5mins, then 160fan for the rest. Streusel kind of melted into the muffin tops, but it's there in spirit.
All in all a delish recipe, the kids enjoyed!
Lexi says
Thank you for your feedback! Glad to hear your kids enjoyed 🙂
Aesh says
Is there a way to make this recipe sugar-free?
Lexi says
I have not tried it sugar free, but you can likely use a sugar free substitute.
Dayna says
Hi, are you able to use frozen blueberries for this recipe?
Lexi says
Yes, however because of the chilling time, just keep in mind that the frozen berries will likely bleed and may change the color of the dough. If it's possible, fresh would be the best option!