Published: 03/13/2023
They are light and soft lemon blueberry muffins just as good—or better!—than any bakery version. The Greek yogurt keeps them super moist, the creamed butter creates a wonderfully soft and fluffy texture, and the blueberries and lemon add a burst of flavor. Sprinkle each muffin with lemony-brown sugar crumb topping for a sweet finish.
It’s no secret that I have a soft spot in my heart (err… stomach?) for the delicious flavor duo of lemon + blueberry. Desserts like lemon blueberry cheesecake bar and lemon blueberry tart is always a refreshing change from rich chocolate. But these light and fruity flavors also make a delicious breakfast or anytime snack, especially when topped with a zesty-sweet crumble that takes these humble muffins to new heights.
Why You’ll Love These Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Full of juicy blueberries and fresh lemon flavor
- Soft, fluffy, and cake-like, a muffin-like version of this popular lemon blueberry cake
- Easy to prepare
- Can use fresh or frozen blueberries—very convenient
- Topped with a delicious crumb, just like your favorite bakery muffin
Ingredients You Need
Today’s lemon blueberry muffin recipe is a variation of my basic one muffin recipe. I reduced the butter a bit because I found the muffins too fragile with the lemon juice and too many blueberries. (You will use the remaining stick of butter in the topping!)
This batter can be used to create endless muffin varieties and you will see it again in my classic blueberry muffins, peach muffins, cranberry orange muffins, apple cinnamon muffinsetc.
Here are all the ingredients you need for muffin batter, and why each one is important:
- flour: The base of these muffins is all-purpose flour.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Both leavening agents help the muffins rise. See my trick below for towering bakery-style muffin tops.
- Salt and Vanilla Extract: Salt and pure vanilla extract add flavor. Try to use homemade vanilla extract.
- butter: We use creamed butter for a lighter, softer texture. My orange lemon poppy seed muffins is made with melted butter for a denser, tastier texture.
- Sugar: To my muffin recipe, I alternate between brown sugar and granulated sugar. I like to use granulated sugar in today’s muffins so the lemon flavor really shines through, but I like to use brown sugar in my blueberry muffins for a little extra flavor.
- Eggs: 2 eggs hold everything together.
- Yogurt: Greek yogurt adds moisture. Use your favorite yogurt—I prefer nonfat or low-fat plain Greek yogurt but regular (non-Greek) is fine, and any fat content. Sour cream is a great substitute if you don’t have yogurt.
- Milk: You can use dairy or non-dairy milk.
- Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest: We use both, for lots of zingy lemon flavor. Be sure to zest the lemon before slicing and juicing—it’s easier to do it in this order!
- Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen berries. If using frozen, do not thaw before use.
You can also add poppy seeds, like I do with these blackberry lemon poppy seed muffins.
You will need a couple mixing bowls and an electric mixer (either a stand mixer or handheld), because we cook the butter and sugar at the same time. From there, it’s as easy as combining the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet in another, and then mixing them together and folding in the blueberries.
Expect a thick and fluffy batter:
Easy Crumb Topping
Today’s crumb topping is cinnamon-free, unlike many streusel recipes. Just brown sugary, lemony, and sweet. I love the cinnamon in the crumb topping on these blueberry muffins, but here the cinnamon takes the zesty lemon out of these muffins. And we want the lemon flavor to really shine!
The crumb topping comes together quickly and easily in a small bowl—just use a fork to combine the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, and lemon zest.
It doesn’t make a huge amount, just enough for a small crumble on top of each muffin. You can double it if you want extra crumb.
Baker’s tip: Gently press the crumbles onto the top of the muffins before baking, otherwise they will come off as the muffins rise in the oven.
How to Make Perfect Tall Muffin Tops
For large bakery-style muffin tops, there are 3 directions to follow carefully:
- Make sure your muffin batter is THICK. (This is it!)
- Fill your muffin cups to the top.
- Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at an initial high temperature, then reduce the temperature for the rest of the cooking time. The initial high temperature of this oven quickly raises the muffin tops. When the temperature is reduced, the centers of the muffins bake. I do this with all my muffin recipes, including zucchini muffins and banana muffins too!
This trick not only makes beautiful sky-high muffin tops, it also makes the muffins super soft on the inside because the tops don’t stay flat.
More Lemon Blueberry Treats
Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Time allowed to fix: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 23 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
produce: 12 muffins
Category: Muffins
Method: Cooking
Food: American
Description
These light and fluffy lemon blueberry muffins are just as delicious—or better!—than any bakery version. The Greek yogurt keeps them super moist, the creamed butter creates a wonderfully soft and fluffy texture, and the blueberries and lemon add a burst of flavor. The lemony-brown sugar crumb topping adds a sweet finish, but feel free to skip it if desired.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Spraying a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Make muffins: Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld o stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the lemon zest and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the eggs, yogurt, and vanilla, and beat for 1 minute, then up to high speed until the mixture is combined and almost creamy. (It's ok if it looks a little curdled.) Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients, milk, and lemon juice to the wet ingredients and beat until no pockets of flour remain. Gently fold in the blueberries. Avoid over mixing. The batter is thick and fluffy.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them to the top.
- Make the crumb topping: In a small bowl, use a fork to mix all the crumb topping ingredients together.
- Spoon evenly over the top of each filled muffin cup, gently pressing it down onto the surface to stick. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 18-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 23–24 minutes, give or take.
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Enjoy warm, or at room temperature.
- Muffins will keep fresh covered at room temperature for several days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Stars
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked and cooled muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature before enjoying. Warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Citrus Zester | Citrus Juicer | Glass Mixing Bowls | Electric Mixer (Handheld o Stand Mixer) | 12-Count Muffin Pan
- Yogurt: You can use nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt, Greek or regular. You can also use sour cream.
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy.
- Blueberries: If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw.
- For a jumbo muffin pan: 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 22–25 minutes for a total of 27–30 minutes. Makes about 6. For the mini muffins: 350°F (full time) for 12–14 minutes. Makes about 36–40.
Keywords: lemon blueberry muffins