Blueberry Pine Nut Streusel Muffins

This is my favorite muffin. The recipe is rather involved but I think they're addictive, the best way to start a long lazy brunch, sweet enough for dessert, or just munchies anytime. I grew up in New Mexico where piñon nuts (pigñoli) are plentiful, but happily substitute anything you like that is crunchy and affordable like macadamia pieces, sliced almonds, chopped pecans, rolled oats, or omit completely.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 12 muffins

Equipment

Muffin Tin
Digital Scale
Dough Cutter

Ingredients

For the Streusel Topping

113 g butter cold, cubed
80 g almond meal
80 g all-purpose flour
230 g coarse cane sugar turbinado, demarara etc.
60 g pine nuts other nuts, or rolled oats

For the Muffin Batter

240 g all-purpose flour
115 g sugar
8 g baking powder 2 tsp
1/2 tsp salt
1 lemon zest only
75 g oil
1 egg
85 g milk
325 g frozen blueberries

Instructions

Make the streusel topping by working butter into the other ingredients using a dough cutter or a fork until only peewee marble-sized pieces remain. These will form the crunchy bits. Don't use your hands or the butter will melt. You may have some left-over, but it keeps in an airtight container in the freezer for the next batch, or mix with oats to make a seasonal fruit crisp anytime.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Whisk the dry ingredients and immediately reserve 1/2 cup of the dry mixture. Whisk together the liquid ingredients. Then mix together all but the reserved dry ingredients. The dough will be thick to compensate for the moisture of the berries.
To keep blueberries from sinking in the batter, coat them in the reserved 1/2 cup of dry ingredients. The starch will form a tacky film that keeps the berries suspended. Fold berries into the muffin batter until just combined.
The dough will be dark purple but it bakes up a more appetizing color. Scoop it into each muffin cup equally. Top with at least 1/4 cup of streusel. The streusel layer cannot be thick enough, just mound it on top and it will melt to form a delicious sugary crust.
Bake for at least 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. If you press gently on a hot muffin it should spring back. Depending on the size of your muffin cups they could take longer.