Blueberries! Muffins and more.

I got some awesome blueberries at my grocery store this last week, and after a particularly grueling... no, I should say spirit crushing... day of house hunting I came home and made these:

Blueberry muffins, from my Williams-Sonoma Breakfast Comforts cookbook, and THIS:

Blueberry and Almond Tart (with Basil Whipped Cream, yumm!) which I have made before. They were delicious, and re-inflated my spirit like only fresh home-baked goods can. To find the recipe for the tart click on the link above. Here is the recipe for the muffins:

You will need:


- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with a splash of plain white vinegar)
- 2 large eggs
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but what makes these so special)
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

for streusel (optional, my Jacob prefers them without):

- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds or pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter and flour 12 standard muffin cups or line them with paper liners. Butter the top of the muffin pan.
In a bowl, sift together all DRY ingredients. In another bowl whisk together the WET ingredients. Pour WET ingredients into dry and stir unit just combined. Fold in the blueberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
 - To make the streusel, in a small bowl combine the flour, sugar, and butter. Using your fingers or a fork, work the ingredients together until just combined. Work in the almonds/pecans. Press into a ball, and then separate with your fingers into coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the tops of the muffins.

Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto the rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. I love mine warm, with lemon curd or basil whipped cream, or plain!