Hello friends!  I had planned a post for you about the issues happening in the States right now.  I wrote it and rewrote it, but I couldn’t find the words to express what is on my mind.  It is all so overwhelming.  So now that will be another post for another day…

This weekend I was able to retreat from the discord happening around us and found beauty in life by spending time at home, close to my family.  We are still under partial quarantine where I live, and unfortunately, we haven’t been able to spend much time with my mother and aunt for the last four months.  We usually see them at least three times a week, but had been keeping our distance to keep them safe.  We decided that with our community slowly opening again, it would be okay to spend time together on Sunday.

My daughter was so excited and woke up early Sunday morning to help me prepare fresh blueberry muffins with crumble topping to share with her grandmother and great aunt.  It is a treat that reminds me of my childhood summers when blueberries were in abundance.  It is also one of my favorite last-minute recipes to make.  They are quick and only require ingredients that I typically already have on hand.   Also, if blueberries are out of season or hard to find, they can be substituted by another fruit or chocolate chips!  You could even make these muffins without the fruit if you absolutely have none.  You could just add some cinnamon or cardamom to the muffin recipe.  I want to try them with peaches because I think they would be reminiscent of a peach cobbler.  (Another treat I will share!)

These blueberry crumble muffins don’t require very many ingredients and the measurements are fairly simple so it is an easy recipe for little ones to help with and older ones to do by themselves.  Sometimes I cut down on the sugar in the muffins because the crumble topping is very sweet and I tend to prefer lightly sweetened goods.  It is a forgiving recipe, so it is easy to customize and make it your own!  This recipe should make 8 large muffins or 12 standard muffins. I hope that you and your family enjoy it!

Blueberry Crumble Muffins

Muffin Recipe

• 1 ½ cups flour
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ cup milk or more/less as needed (depending on the consistency of your batter and fruit)
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, other fruit or chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
3. Combine milk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla in another bowl and stir until completely mixed.
4. Pour half the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir until completely mixed. Repeat with remaining half of liquid mixture.
5. Fold in blueberries, other fruit or chocolate chips, filling muffin cups to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven if using a large muffin tin (yield 8 muffins). Bake 12-15 minutes for a standard muffin tin (yield 12 muffins).

Crumble topping recipe

• ⅓ cup flour
• ½ cup white or brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup butter, cubed

1. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a bowl. Mix with fork or a pastry cutter until the mixture is appears consistent.
2. Sprinkle over muffins before baking.

If you a have extra blueberries laying about, try this delicious dump cake recipe!

-Mari