Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

The ultimate blueberry muffins recipe! These bakery style muffins are SO moist and fluffy, bursting with bites of fresh blueberries, and finished with a generous topping of crispy crumbly streusel. They're flavored with a dash of cinnamon and almond extract and have sky high tops to truly mimic the look and feel of a bakery style muffin at home.

bakery style blueberry muffins

These are not your average blueberry muffins. They have all the bells and whistles - with a few extra details that make them even more special. If you're looking for a simple, quick, and easy blueberry muffin recipe, I have one that you can find HERE. This recipe is inspired by my original blueberry muffins (because it's one of my favorite muffin recipes, so it was naturally the perfect starting point!) But here are the main features that make these muffins unique:

1. Streusel - A staple in so many delicious bakery style muffins! This recipe features the addition of a cinnamon streusel topping for added texture and some warm flavor.
2. Richness - These muffins are a bit more rich than my original recipe. I've replaced some of the milk with sour cream and some of the oil with butter for this recipe. While it may not seem like those 2 simple changes will make a huge difference, they really do make these muffins feel extra special!
3. Flavor - Another shift from the original recipe is these muffins include cinnamon and a hint of almond extract. Paired with the blueberries, they give the muffins a deeper, more interesting flavor that feels straight from a high end bakery. The warmth from the cinnamon works surprisingly well with the freshness from the blueberries and the almond extract boosts both flavors with its earthy addition.
4. Process - The method for making these muffins is very similar to my original recipe, but I will say this recipe involves slightly more work - just because we have a few additional ingredients added into the mix and also there's the step of making the streusel. This is still a very easy recipe to make, but if you're looking for the lowest effort possible (some days are like that!) then stick with the original recipe because there's no beating it!
5. But some things never change! These muffins are just as soft, spongy, and moist as the original. These ones just have a bit more going on!

how to make bakery style blueberry muffins

I mentioned that this recipe has a bit more bells and whistles going on to make it feel a little extra special and "bakery"-like, but it's still so easy to make. You can find the full recipe ingredients and instructions further down on this page, but here's a quick look at how these muffins are made:

1. Streusel - There's really not much work involved in making the streusel. All you really need to do is mix all the ingredients together (flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter) until it comes together into a dry and crumbly mixture. Then you can move onto making the blueberry muffin batter!
2. Dry ingredients & blueberries - The muffin batter starts with the dry ingredients. They're first whisked together and then the blueberries are added in and tossed to coat. By mixing the blueberries into the dry ingredients, we're coating them with flour and essentially giving the batter something to stick to. Blueberry skin is otherwise slippery, so having that coating of flour will keep them evenly distributed and suspended in the batter without sinking to the bottom!
3. Wet ingredients - Once the dry ingredients are ready, the wet ingredients are all whisked together in a separate bowl to combine. Then it's time to combine!
4. Combine - Lastly, the wet ingredients are poured over the dry and they're all mixed together to complete the batter.
5. Baking - Once the batter is ready, we can layer these bad boys! The blueberry muffin batter is divided into 12 muffin cups - each one will be filled to the very top and then some! This will help ensure you have TALL muffin tops. The streusel is then sprinkled over each muffin before baking. The muffins will be ready to come out of the oven once they're domed on top, lightly browned, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out with no wet batter but a few moist crumbs.
6. Cooling - After the muffins come out of the oven, let them cool in the pan for 20 minutes before taking them out. They should still be perfectly warm but this allows them to set enough to move with little breakage. The sides of the muffins (especially anywhere there's a blueberry) have a tendency to stick to the muffin tin. So give them a little nudge with your finger or a butter knife to dislodge any stuck on pieces before pulling the muffins out and onto a wire rack.

tips for making perfect blueberry muffins

If you struggle to get perfect, bakery quality muffins at home, here's are some things that may be going wrong:

Flour - There is a right and a wrong way to measure flour and it's one of the most common reasons that a baked good may not come out right! Whenever possible, measuring flour by weight with a food scale will give you the most consistent and accurate results. However if you prefer to use cups, make sure to use the spoon and level method. What this involves is using a spoon to lightly scoop heaps of flour into your measuring cup then using a flat utensil (like a knife) to level off any excess. Don't scoop the measuring cup directly into the bag of flour and don't shake or tap the measuring cup to even out the top - this will condense the flour into your cup and can leave you with ¾ cup (or more!) of excess flour!

Temperature - Whenever you're working with an ingredient like butter (where temperature can vastly alter its consistency), it's important to use ingredients that are at a similar temperature. Since we're using melted butter in this recipe, all fridge ingredients should be room temperature to ensure they don't shock and resolidify the butter. This ensures a batter that comes together more seamlessly and as smoothly as possible. The reason I say as smoothly "as possible" is...

Mixing - This batter should NOT be perfectly smooth! The best muffin batters will have tiny lumps (just like pancake batter). This is one of the keys to a soft and spongy texture! If you overmix the batter, you'll overwork the gluten in the flour which will ultimately add structure to the muffins. And structure is NOT something you want in a recipe that's meant to be light and soft! So mix just until the dry streaks have disappeared - no more, no less. Also a final side note about mixing: try to be gentle to ensure the blueberries don't burst as you combine the wet and dry ingredients.

Baking - When you're making muffins, cakes, or anything with a similar texture, you almost always want a few moist crumbs on the tip of a skewer when you insert it into the center. There shouldn't be any wet batter but the skewer also shouldn't come out perfectly clean! A clean skewer typically means the muffins are overbaked and is an easy way to spoil an otherwise amazing muffin experience!

Almond extract - A quick little note on the almond extract: while vanilla is something you can measure with the heart, make sure you use an actual measuring spoon for the almond extract! It's a very strong extract and can easily be overdone if not measured correctly.

FAQs

Can you use frozen blueberries?
Unfortunately, they don't work very well in this recipe. Frozen blueberries will lower the temperature of the batter and can lead to inconsistent baking. They also don't work defrosted because, after they thaw, they're too mushy and can make the batter goopy.

Can you use granulated sugar?
You could, but I found the light brown sugar offered a better texture for the muffins and streusel. So if you can, I'd recommend using brown!

Can you use all butter or all oil in the muffin batter?
Technically yes, but I wouldn't recommend you do. The butter offers flavor but can dry out the muffins while the oil makes the muffins moist but lacks flavor. Using a mix of the two makes for a really incredible and balanced muffin!

Can you skip the cinnamon and / or almond extract?
Absolutely! I personally love the flavor of everything together, but if it's not your cup of tea, then feel free to leave them out.

check out these other muffin recipes!

• BEST Banana Muffins
• Apple Crumb Muffins
• Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Brown Butter Zucchini Muffins
• Blueberry Muffin Cookies

Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.

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Enjoy!

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