Glazed Blueberry Donut Muffins

Just when I thought I had enough good blueberry muffin recipes on my blog, I went out and found another recipe that I absolutely love. This recipe, like the other three I have posted about in the past, is completely unique and requires its own spot in the recipe index. It tastes just like a blueberry donut! I seriously love donuts, but it has been quite a while since I last pulled out my donut pan from the cabinet. After making these muffins, I might have to dig it out and make another batch of homemade donuts. With fall just around the corner, it is almost time to make these Pumpkin Spice Donuts- my favorite!

Not only do these muffins taste like donuts, but they are also dipped in a sweet glaze just like so many of my favorite donut recipes. Out of everyone that I shared them with, I think my dad was the biggest fan. After trying one muffin, he asked that I leave four more for him, even though he was only going to be home for two more days. These Glazed Blueberry Donut Muffins make the perfect breakfast or dessert- or even both in the case of my dad!

Glazed Blueberry Donut Muffins

Recipe from Cooking Classy

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 1/2 tbsp milk

1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Set aside. 

In another large mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated after each addition. Add the vanilla.

In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream and lemon juice. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and gently fold until just incorporated. Then add 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture and gently fold until just incorporated. Repeat the process, ending with the flour mixture. Gently fold the blueberries into the muffin batter. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool on a cooling rack for about 10-15 minutes.

While the muffins are cooling, combine the powdered sugar, milk and lemon juice in a small bowl. Whisk until combined. Dip the tops of the muffins in the glaze, allow the excess to drip off. Return the muffins to the cooling rack and allow to cool completely. 

Blueberry Muffins

In my opinion, you can never have enough blueberry muffin recipes in your baking repertoire. After all, blueberry muffins are the muffins of all muffins. Even though I already have two blueberry muffin recipes on the blog, that did not stop me from going out and finding another recipe that I love and now cannot live without. 

Since the recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated, it should come as no surprise that a unique method is used to make these blueberry muffins. You actually make a batch of homemade blueberry jam, which is then swirled into the top of each muffin before baking. I loved the addition of the blueberry jam, as well as the lemon sugar topping which was the perfect complement to all of the blueberries. Now you can see why I had no choice but to add this recipe to the archives. 

Blueberry Muffins

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated

Yield: 12 muffins

Lemon Sugar Topping:

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

Muffins:

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 1/8 cups plus 1 tsp granulated sugar, divided

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp table salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping, combine the lemon zest and sugar in a small bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the ingredients together until fragrant. Set aside.

For the muffins, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a small saucepan set over medium heat, combine 1 cup of blueberries with 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar. Use the back of a spoon to smash the blueberries and stir frequently. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a jam-like consistency. Transfer to a small bowl and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl, whisk together  1 1/8 cups granulated sugar and the eggs. Add the melted butter, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Whisk until fully incorporated. Add the wet ingredients and the remaining blueberries into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Add one teaspoon of blueberry jam to each cup. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the jam into the batter. Sprinkle the lemon sugar topping over the muffins.

Bake for 18-19 minutes or until golden brown in color. Transfer the muffin pan to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

Temperatures reached 90 degrees over the weekend. While it was certainly hot outside, it was a nice change from the 40 degree weather we had over Memorial Day weekend. It is crazy how temperatures can change that much in just one week. I am looking forward to more nice weather over the upcoming months. The warmer weather also means that blueberries are almost in season. As I walk through the Farmer's Market each week, I always check for blueberries, knowing that it is still a little too early. While they haven't had any yet, I know that they are sure to make an appearance in the near future.

I have a lot of go-to blueberry muffin recipes. Blueberry muffins are my favorite muffins so I feel like I can never have enough good recipes. These Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins are one of my recent favorites. Brown butter makes everything better, right? I am also a big fan of a streusel topping on my muffin and this one does not disappoint.

Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

Recipe from the Joy the Baker Cookbook by Joy Wilson

Yield: 12 Muffins

Muffins:

7 tbsp unsalted butter, cold

1/3 cup milk

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

Streusel Topping:

3 tbsp unsalted butter, cold

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.

Melt butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Continue to cook until butter bubbles and becomes a medium brown color. Be careful not to burn the butter. Remove from heat. Pour the butter into a small bowl. 

In another bowl, combined the milk, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Whisk until combined. Add the brown butter and whisk again. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine. Fold in the blueberries but be careful not to overmix.  Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. 

To make the streusel topping, combine all the ingredients in a small bow. With clean hands, combine the ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over the top of the prepared muffins. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden in color. An inserted toothpick should come out clean. Let the muffins cool for about 15 minutes before serving. 

Nutella Swirled Banana Muffins

I love a good piece of banana bread or a banana muffin as much as the next person. My boyfriend might even like them more than me. For this reason, I often find myself flagging recipes for banana bread, banana muffins and other banana treats. The problem is that I am not always patient enough to make them on a regular basis. For years I made banana bread and banana muffins that lacked any real flavor. I constantly ignored the recipes and used bananas that were bright yellow in color. The result? Dry and flavorless baked goods that were nothing like what I had hoped to make. The key is letting the bananas sit for days on the counter, long enough so that they are brown in color. If you are impatient like me, you can always put the bananas in a brown bag to speed up the process.

These muffins alone are worth the hassle of waiting for your bananas to turn brown. Trust me. And as if a banana muffin is not a good enough breakfast on its own, the nutella swirl really puts it over the top. Nutella and banana are such a great combination- I am already thinking about more recipes that could incorporate these two flavors together. 

Nutella Swirled Nutella Muffins

Recipe from the Novice Chef

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 very ripe bananas (brown in color), mashed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

Nutella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In another large bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas and sugars. Slowly beat in the egg and vegetable. Mix until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla extract. Gently fold the dry ingredients into bowl of wet ingredients and mix until there are no lumps in the batter.

Fill each muffin tin approximately 3/4 full. Top each muffin with about 1 tsp of Nutella. With a knife or toothpick, gently swirl the Nutella into the batter.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool completely on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

I have definitely missed the smell of pumpkin baking in my kitchen. After going a little pumpkin crazy this past fall, I haven't opened a can since then. I am not really sure why though. People generally shy away from baking with pumpkin outside of pumpkin season, which is during the fall. But why not bake with pumpkin all year round? There is no reason to wait for a good thing. I might not bring pumpkin to a July 4th party, but there is no reason I can't enjoy it myself throughout the year.  Plus, I might have stocked up in December. With about 10 cans in my pantry, I really have no choice but to put it to good use.

These muffins were one of the best things to come out of my kitchen this past fall. I didn't think I could make a better pumpkin muffin, but these pumpkin cream cheese muffins give them a run for their money. Mostly due to the addition of cream cheese in the center of each muffin. Pumpkin and cream cheese are a great combination. I almost always choose cream cheese frosting to top my pumpkin cupcakes. So it is no surprise that I loved the addition of cream cheese in these muffins. It is the perfect tangy complement to the sweet pumpkin muffins. They might take a little longer to make than your typical muffins, but the extra steps are certainly worth it. 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
from Annie's Eats (originally adapted from Bakespace)
yield: 24 muffins

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cups confectioner's sugar

Muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp  ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp + 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
5 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffins pans with paper liners. Set aside.

For the filling: In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar. Mix until smooth and combined. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap. Shape the mixture into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Cover the log with the plastic wrap and reinforce with a piece of tin foil. Transfer to the freezer and allow it to chill for at least 2 hours.

For the muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer, combien the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and vegetable in the bowl of the mixer. Mix on medium speed until fully combined.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.

For the topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add the pieces of butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or your hands. The mixture should be coarse and crumbly. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until use.

Fill each muffin cup with a spoonful of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of each liner. Slice the log of cream cheese into 24 equal pieces and place one piece into each muffin cup. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups. Make sure that the cream cheese is covered completely.  Sprinkle the the topping mixture over each muffin cup.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blueberry Corn Muffins

Happy Wednesday! After a week of incredibly warm weather in New England, we all woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. Except it is really far from wonderful. I could definitely do without the snow and all of the shoveling that awaits me this afternoon. After waking up to all of this snow, I really just want to get back into bed and stay there for a while. Luckily I had these blueberry muffins to wake up to. They were just what I needed to get me out of bed on this snowy morning.

If only it were the middle of August, the weather was warm and blueberries were in season. And of course there were be no snow and shoveling to do. Wouldn't that be nice?

Blueberry Corn Muffins

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

Yield: 12 Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup ground yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs 

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Fill a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, canola oil, vanilla and eggs until combined. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix with a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

Cranberry Eggnog Muffins

'Tis the season for eggnog, gingerbread and peppermint! I know it is not December yet, but I decided to start my holiday baking anyways. Target declared it holiday season months ago, so I don't see why I can't start baking with eggnog now. At least I waited for Thanksgiving to be over!

These muffins are packed with flavor. Between the tart cranberries, the sweet eggnog and even the crumbly streusel topping, I loved the combination of ingredients in these muffins. And of course they make the perfect breakfast treat for the holiday season with their seasonal flavors. 

On a related note, I love the subtle use of almond extract in these muffins. Even more than the flavor, I love the scent of almond extract. If Bath and Body Works had a body spray that smelled like these muffins, I would totally buy it. Trust me, these muffins will make your house smell wonderful this holiday season! However, a little almond extract goes a long way, so don't add too much to the muffin batter :) 

Cranberry Eggnog Muffins

Recipe from Annie Eats (originally adapted from RecipeGirl)

Muffins:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar, divided

2 eggs

3/4 cup eggnog

5 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 cups cranberries, chopped

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12-14 muffin cups with paper liners and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar, eggs, eggnog, melted butter and almond extract. Mix until fully incorporated. Add in the dry ingredients and continue to mix until combined.

Combine the cranberries with the remaining sugar. With a spatula, gently fold in the chopped cranberries and mix until combined.

Divide batter between prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. 

Streusel Topping:

In a medium bowl, combined the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter. Slowly combine the butter into the dry ingredients until a coarse, crumbly mixture forms. Distribute the streusel mixture evenly over the muffins. 

Bake muffins for about 18-22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Enjoy :)

Maple Syrup Pancake Muffins

My boyfriend has been asking to have pancakes for dinner for the past few weeks. While I haven't gotten around to making actual pancakes yet, I decided to make these maple syrup pancake muffins for him this past weekend. I think that was a fair compromise :) These muffins really do taste like pancakes soaked in maple syrup. 

After the muffin batter was already made, I looked at the recipe and noticed that it only resulted in a yield of approximately 10-12 muffins. While that might be enough muffins for some people, I need to feed a whole basketball coaching staff when I bake. By the time my boyfriend and I finished breakfast and I took some home to my photograph, there certainly would not be enough for all of the coaches. So we decided I had to make another batch. This time I switched things up and added some mini chocolate chips to the batter. In the end, I'm glad we ended up making two batches of these muffins because I think the chocolate chip version was my favorite. Who doesn't like chocolate chip pancakes? Feel free to add your favorite pancake fixings to the batter though :)

Maple Syrup Pancake Muffins

Recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures (Originally adapted from Joy the Baker)

Muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

7 tbsp unsalted butter

1/3 cup milk

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Maple Glaze:

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. As the butter melts, it will begin to bubble and eventually turn brown in color. As soon as it turns brown, remove from the heat and keep whisking.  Allow the browned butter to cool. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, egg york, maple syrup and vanilla. Slowly add the cooled brown butter and continue to whisk until combined.

Fill each cavity of muffin tin about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool on a cooling rack. 

Glaze: 

Combine the maple syrup and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly, until syrup is thick. 

Once the muffins are cooled, use a fork or knife to poke holes on the top of each one. Dip each muffin into the syrup mixture one at a time. Repeat this step if desired.

Enjoy :)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

With all of the pumpkin baking I have been doing this fall, I can't keep enough pumpkin stocked up in my kitchen. I buy more every time I go to the grocery store, but it still isn't enough. I just can't get enough pumpkin during this time of the year, so bear with me for a few more recipes. I am sure you don't mind too much.

Out of all the recipes I have made this fall, these muffins might just be my favorite. Not only do I love the warm pumpkin flavor, but the cinnamon streusel topping puts these muffins over the top. All of the original muffins were gone within two days, so I must not be the only one who really likes them in my house.

Tomorrow I will give you a break from all of the pumpkin and share a recipe for a delicious apple cake I made earlier this week. But I can't promise that the break will last too long. I was in the kitchen earlier this week experimenting with new pumpkin recipes. It is a tough job, really. 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod 

Muffins:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/3 cup water

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon Streusel Topping:

1 1/4 cup oats

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

6 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks

Muffins:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter muffin pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, water, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla until combined. Slowly mix in the flour mixture. Whisk until fully incorporated. 

Cinnamon Streusel Topping:

In a small bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined. Mix in the butter with your hands. The end result should be a crumbly mixture.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full with the pumpkin mixture and then sprinkle the cinnamon streusel on top of each muffin. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool on a cooling rack before serving.

Enjoy :)

Maple Pecan Monkey Muffins

Happy Friday! After an entire week of rain, the sun is finally out this morning! The only good thing about this week's rain is that baking is the perfect activity for a rainy afternoon. So baking is what I did and I made you these Maple Pecan Monkey Muffins. Have you guys ever had Monkey Bread? Small, sticky pieces of dough covered in brown sugar and cinnamon, baked together in a bundt pan. Sounds good right? Well these muffins are individual sized versions of the popular recipe but still just as good. 

These honestly might be the easiest muffins I have ever made. The recipe calls for refrigerated biscuit dough, which is cut up into small pieces and dipped into a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. The best part is the ooey gooey maple syrup butter on the bottom of each muffin. Feel free to add more maple syrup to the top of each muffin if you like.

Do you guys have any fun plans for this weekend? My boyfriend and I planned to go Apple Picking on Sunday, but it looks like it is supposed to rain again all weekend. Bummer. Hopefully we get a little bit of sun at some point. All of this rain is also messing up the 5K training I am supposed to be doing. If you know anything about me, you know that I am not a runner. And all of this rain is just one more excuse not to run, which is not good with my race just about one month away. Yikes! Maybe I will go for a run now while it is nice out...or maybe I will just go have another muffin :) 

Maple Pecan Monkey Muffins

Recipe from Very Culinary

1 can of refrigerated Grands Biscuits

3 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

1 tsp cinnamon

Melt maple syrup and butter in the microwave. Pour mixture into each cavity of the muffin pan, distributing evenly throughout each. 

In a large bowl, mix the brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon until combined. 

Cut each biscuit into eight small pieces of equal size. Place each piece into the brown sugar and pecan mixture, making such that they are evenly coated with the mixture. 

Place five coated biscuit pieces into each cavity of the muffin pan. 

Sprinkle any remaining brown sugar and pecan mixture on the top of each muffin.

Bake for 18 minutes or until muffins are golden brown in color.

Enjoy :)