Blueberry muffins with a crunchy topping: A healthy to-go snack

For many of us, muffins are a recipe staple: portable and packed full of goodness, they work just as well as a coffee-break snack as they do to fuel early morning hockey practice. And with our Streusel-crunch blueberry muffins, we’ve taken the goodness up a notch: along with being delicious, these magnificent muffins boast ingredients like whole wheat flour, antioxidant-rich blueberries, fresh lemon zest, and plain yogourt, which means they almost qualify as a health food (or so we tell ourselves, when we dig into a second muffin).

The muffins can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries, which also means they can be enjoyed long past the summer season. And the crunchy, buttery streusel on top makes them special enough for dessert in a pinch. They’re also incredibly moist and flavourful, with the lemon zest tempering the muffin’s sweetness. And if they last that long (a double batch is a good idea), these muffins will stay fresh for up to two days (stored at room temperature in a Ziploc bag).

Step 1:

• Preheat oven to 375°F and prepare your muffin pan by either spraying the cups lightly with oil or non-stick spray, or lining with parchment paper. Tip: If making this recipe with the kids, we’d recommend spray versus the parchment, which can be fiddly to work with. Otherwise, cut the parchment ahead of time into even squares (5”x5”) so you’re all set to go.

Step 2:

• For the streusel, mix flour, sugar, and lemon zest, then add the unsalted butter and blend using your fingers (or two knives) until crumbly. If you’re using frozen blueberries, toss the blueberries (1 cup) with 2 tbsp of flour and set aside.

Step 3:

• To make the muffin mix, stir the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours together in a large bowl and add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl whisk the egg, then whisk in the plain yogourt, vegetable oil, and additional lemon zest. Stir the egg/yogourt mixture into the flour mixture until combined (don’t overmix – the batter will be quite thick), and then stir in the blueberries. Spoon the mix into the parchment-lined muffin cups (an ice cream scoop works well for this step), and sprinkle the streusel mixture on top.

Step 4:

• Bake muffins until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean and the tops are golden, about 25 minutes. Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely … if you can wait that long!

Try this recipe: Streusel-crunch blueberry muffins

Ingredients

Streusel topping:

• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter

Muffins:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup plain yogourt, preferably 2%
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 170g container fresh blueberries