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Blueberry Sugar Doughnut Muffins are the best of summer baking

The blueberries are just beginning to ripen here in Upstate NY. If you’re in a warmer part of the country, you’ve probably had them for a few weeks by now. These Blueberry Sugar Doughnut Muffins are one of my favorite things to bake with blueberries.

Lemon and Blueberries are a match made in heaven

Lemon brings out the very best blueberry flavor. Blueberries have varying degrees of sweetness, especially when freshly picked. Lemons elevate the sweetness and add a spark of bright freshness. Plus the little bit of lemon juice interacts with the baking powder to help give a lighter rise.

Sugar Doughnut Muffins

Anything baked with blueberries is pretty darn good in my book. Making sugar doughnut muffins is just a bit fancier, a little more trouble, but so worth it! These are baked, so they aren’t exactly like a fried doughnut, but adding the buttery, sugary topping will make you think of doughnuts, and the bit of nutmeg really brings a similar flavor. So good.

The Muffin Method

There are a number of baking “methods”. They’re named for the type of baked goods most commonly associated with them. I guess the muffin method is pretty obvious here.

Wet and dry ingredients combined separately

Muffins are the ultimate quick bread – they come together quickly and bake very quickly. You don’t want to do anything that will develop the gluten in the flour, because that will make them tough, with big holes in them.

So, the dry ingredients and wet ingredients are thoroughly combined separately first, and then brought together quickly. The resulting batter will be rough, with a slightly shaggy texture. A few spots of the dry mixture here and there are also fine – they will bake up fine. Too much mixing to achieve a smooth batter will develop gluten which we don’t want.

Preheat the oven and prepare the muffin tin first

The other important thing about making muffins is that you want to get them in the oven immediately. Getting your muffin tin ready before you start is a great idea. Preheating to 380°F gives the muffins a bit more lift – but lower the temperature to 350°F as soon as you put them in.

Dip in butter and cinnamon sugar right away

Put the topping on the muffins as soon as they are out of the oven. This gives the tops a slight bit of crunch from the sugar. They will also stay fresh tasting a bit longer, because the butter will keep them from drying out.

How to make Blueberry Sugar Doughnut Muffins

recipe for blueberry sugar doughnut muffins on the creekside cook

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5 from 1 vote

Blueberry Sugar Doughnut Muffins

Author: Donalyn Ketchum

These easy to make muffins combine the best of muffins and sugar doughnuts!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts

Cuisine: American

Meal: Breakfast, Brunch

Servings: muffins

Calories: 222kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 large egg
1/4 cup avocado oil
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 lemon - zest and juice
1 cup fresh blueberries [see notes for frozen berries]

Topping

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Line the wells in the muffin tin with paper liners, and preheat the oven to 380°F.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, avocado oil, vanilla lemon juice and zest.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Add the blueberries, and use a rubber spatula to fold all of the ingredients together. Don't over mix - the batter should be somewhat shaggy and a few dry spots here and there are fine.
Using a tablespoon or large cookie scoop, portion the batter evenly between the lined cups.
Lower the heat in the oven to 350°F, and place the muffin tin on a middle rack.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center of one of the center muffins comes out clean.
While the muffins are baking, melt the butter in a small dish, and combine the sugar and cinnamon in another small dish.
Remove the muffins to a cooling rack, and while they are still very warm, dip the top of each muffin in the melted butter, and then in the sugar mixture. Serve warm with butter, cream cheese or sweetened Farmer Cheese.

Notes

You can use frozen blueberries - don't thaw them out - just mix them right into the batter frozen. The muffins will take a couple minutes extra to bake when using frozen berries.

This recipe can also made with a mini muffin tin, which will give you 24 muffins. Double the amount of topping ingredients though, because it will take more to top 24 muffins, even though they are smaller.

Store for a few days in the refrigerator. If you want to freeze them, I would wait until you plan to eat them to add the sugar topping. Heat them in foil after thawing, and then top. Like all muffins, they are best eaten right away, or in a day.

Nutrition

Looking for more ways to get the most out of blueberries this summer? Check out some of our other favorite recipes: