Your Search for Perfect Blueberry Muffins is Over

If the grocery store isn't your favorite place, it should be. Posie Harwood from 600 Acres is sharing the best back-of-the-box recipes every Sunday.

Today: Learn the blueberry muffin rule of three: one-third berries, one-third batter, one-third streusel topping.

An excellent muffin is a beautiful and rare thing. Can you picture one? It is cakey but moist, with a tight crumb. It has a golden crust that yields to your fingers and breaks off in big, sugared pieces.

My perfect blueberry muffin follows the rule of three (I just invented this rule and I'd like us all to embrace it!): one-third berries, one-third batter, and one-third streusel topping. 

I remember eating blueberry muffins warm from the oven in New Hampshire, where I spent summers as a child. Wild blueberries grow everywhere along the edges of the lakes up there, and once you learn to recognize the bushes, you'll spot them from a distance. We'd hop into our old flat-bottomed boat and drive out to a far, quiet stretch of shoreline. There, we'd wander ankle-deep in lake water, picking ripe blueberries until our buckets were full and our hands were stained blue with juice.

Back in our tiny camp kitchen, we'd turn up the radio and open the doors and bake: blueberry pies, blueberry pancakes, blueberry cobbler, and blueberry muffins.

This recipe is written for regular blueberries, but if you can get your hands on wild blueberries, they will just be extra delicious. Taste the wild berries first: You'll want to add more sugar than the recipe calls for if your berries are on the tart side. 

Whichever kind of blueberries you have (even frozen!), these muffins will be spectacular. They resemble a classic blueberry muffin, but the topping is more of a streusel rather than a sugary coating. If you can find lemon powder (a sweetened blend of dried lemon juice and lemon oil), use it! If not, you can leave it out or add a teaspoon of lemon zest for some brightness.

Perfect Blueberry Muffins

Adapted from Domino Sugar

Makes 9 medium muffins

For the muffins:

1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons lemon powder (optional; you can add a teaspoon of lemon zest in its place, if you'd like)
1 egg
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, wild or conventional

For the streusel:

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Do you have a favorite back of the box recipe, or have you heard about a great one? Leave any suggestions in the comments, and I'll try them out and share them here!

Photos by Posie Harwood