Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins With Orange Streusel

By Julia Moskin

Updated February 28, 2024

  • Rikki Snyder for The New York Times
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
About 2 hours
Rating
4(695)
Comments
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This master recipe for juicy, whole grain berry muffins is both extremely flexible and extremely rewarding. It is sweet but not sugary, packed with whole grains but not dense, and reasonably rich in fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats. The fresh berries and nuts are interchangeable with dried fruit, coconut or sunflower seeds. And the muffins freeze beautifully; they can go from a 300-degree oven to the breakfast table (or the car) in about 20 minutes.

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Ingredients

Yield:18 to 24 muffins

FOR THE MUFFINS

  • 2 cups/240 grams all-purpose flour, more as needed

  • ⅔ cup/75 grams whole wheat flour or wheat germ, preferably toasted

  • ⅔ cup/92 grams fine-ground yellow cornmeal

  • ⅔ cup/66 grams rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

  • ⅔ cup/142 grams packed light brown sugar

  • 4 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 2 teaspoons nutmeg or allspice (or use additional cinnamon)

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • 1 ¾ cups/414 milliliters buttermilk, more as needed

  • 1 ⅓ cup/315 milliliters coconut oil, or neutral oil like safflower or canola

  • ⅔ cup/158 milliliters maple syrup

  • 4 eggs

  • 2 cups/198 grams grated carrots or tart apple

  • 1 ½ cups/255 grams blueberries

  • 1 cup/113 grams chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)

FOR THE STREUSEL (OPTIONAL)

  • ⅓ cup/71 grams packed light brown sugar

  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

  • ¼ cup/59 milliliters coconut oil or cold unsalted butter

  • ½ cup/60 grams all-purpose flour

  • 1 ½ tablespoons finely grated orange zest

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

46 grams carbs; 31 milligrams cholesterol; 324 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 13 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 232 milligrams sodium; 8 grams protein; 19 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flours, cornmeal, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

  2. Step 2

    In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, mix the wet ingredients: buttermilk, oil, maple syrup and eggs.

  3. Step 3

    Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently mix just until blended. Don’t worry about a few lumps or streaks of flour. Stir in the carrots, blueberries and nuts if using. (If you'd like, reserve a handful of blueberries for sprinkling on top of the muffins just before baking.)

  4. Step 4

    Set batter aside at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes to allow flours to absorb the liquid. Check batter after 15 minutes by giving it a light stir. It should be thick, not runny (this will help the muffins rise). Thin with a little more buttermilk or thicken by adding 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Set aside for 5 minutes more, check and adjust texture again, and repeat until batter is thick and fluffy.

  5. Step 5

    Heat oven to 425 degrees and place rack in top third of oven. Butter or spray a muffin tin (regular or jumbo), or line the cups with paper liners. Make sure to also butter or spray the top surface of the tin to help the muffins release.

  6. Step 6

    Make the streusel if using: In a small bowl, mix and pinch all the ingredients together until blended and crumbly. (If using butter, cut into small pieces first.)

  7. Step 7

    Using an ice-cream scoop or small ladle, divide thick batter among muffin cups, filling almost to the top. Mound the batter slightly in the center of each cup; this will help make a domed muffin top. If you reserved blueberries for topping, press them lightly into the muffins. If you are topping with streusel, use your fingers to divide streusel over batter and press lightly onto the surface.

  8. Step 8

    Place muffin tin in oven and reduce heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a tester inserted into center of muffin comes out moist but clean. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Cool muffins in pan on rack, then remove from tin.

  9. Step 9

    Repeat with remaining batter. If there is not enough batter remaining to fill all the cups, fill every other cup with batter. Pour water into the empty cups to protect the pan in the oven.

Tip

  • To freeze extra muffins, wrap them individually in aluminum foil. Reheat, still wrapped, in a 300-degree oven for about 20 minutes. Or unwrap and reheat in a microwave.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
695 user ratings
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Comments

hubertrscl

What is the calorie count, fiber content, and amount of sugar in 1 muffin?

Julia Moskin

There will always be a healthy debate about what is and isn't nutritious. My goal here was to use whole ingredients to improve the empty-calorie recipe that usually produces a bakery muffin. So: brown sugar, fruit, and maple syrup instead of white sugar; whole grains in addition to white flour; nuts for protein; fruit and vegetables for fiber. Consider this recipe a starting point, not a doctor's prescription. Thanks everyone!

Carlisle

If you're going to all the trouble of making a healthy muffin, why not use white whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose? It can be substituted on a one-to-one basis in any quick bread recipe.

eela

Amazing recipe- for the detractors, note comment that its a MASTER recipe that can easily be adjusted for nutritional preferences with baking parameters , Thanks Julia and NYT

Keith

Yum!! Double the strudel topping for 24 muffins. Orange zest is a nice surprise. My only deviation: Didn’t have coconut oil and only had half the canola so I added melted butter with the oil.

C-A

Oh wow. I've made lots of baked goods with coconut oil and this has never happened before: either my warmed liquid coconut oil curdled my buttermilk or my buttermilk resolidified my coconut oil. The buttermilk was at room temp. I added the maple syrup to try to help the liquidity. I tried an immersion blender but it seized up like the other person in the comments. So now I have to rewarm the liquid ingredients and I guess I'm going to have to temper in the eggs so I don't scramble them. I think the liquid ingredients instructions could use a rewrite to account for solid coconut oil or specify that coconut oil blended with vegetable oil is required. It can't simply all be added in together easily. Crossing my fingers I can get these to the finish line and come out with something edible.

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