These Blueberry Peanut Butter Crumb Muffins are my new favorite way to enjoy a muffin and peanut butter in the morning. They have a soft, tender bite, and a surprise peanut butter crumb layer inside with juicy blueberries bursting with every bite. Topped with peanut butter crumb topping then drizzled with smooth peanut butter to get the perfect balance of texture. They taste and smell absolutely to die for. It’s like close relative of the childhood favorite PB & J sandwich that’s elevated into muffin form.
How This Recipe Came to Life
This is the FIRST of many recipes I hope to create and publish on my blog as a home baker, however, this recipe is something special. The flavors of this muffin combination are not something you think of everyday and that’s what makes it unique. The backstory and inspiration of the sweet recipe is dedicated to someone special, my fiancé (see story at bottom).
Ingredients:
- Buttermilk: The buttermilk will aid in thickening the batter to create a more dense muffin and will make the blueberry muffins super moist. See below on how to make homemade buttermilk.
- Vegetable Oil: The oil will help create a much fluffier texture for your muffins.
- Sour Cream: Make sure this is at room temperature. The sour cream helps add a slight tang to the muffin batter
- Eggs: Eggs at room temperature work best to help prevent the mixture to separate. Adding the eggs helps as a binding agent to create a stable structure.
- Vanilla Extract: Magnoila is my favorite Vanilla Extract, the rich flavor of vanilla enhances the quality of the muffin.
- Granulated Sugar: I prefer granulated sugar rather than brown sugar because you get a hint of the brown sugar in the peanut butter crumb topping and the lightness of the granulated sugar in the muffin pairs nicely so the muffin as a whole isn’t overly heavy.
- All-Purpose Flour: Muffin batters are meant to be slightly more dense than a cupcake batter, they are cousins not sisters so don’t over mix the batter! Lumpy is okay.
- Cinnamon: Optional! I think the cinnamon adds a nice touch to balance the sweetness of the berries that also compliments the brown sugar in the peanut butter crumb topping.
- Fresh Blueberries: Fresh is always better in my opinion. I believe fresh blueberries will give that “burst” on the inside that can make for a beautiful color and most importantly, flavor.
- Peanut Butter: Creamy peanut butter all the way. DO NOT use all natural, I repeat DO NOT use all natural. It will separate and will not be smooth and creamy like how you want it to be, I promise.
- Brown Sugar: The molasses flavor of the brown sugar pairs wonderfully with the deep peanut butter notes and the darkness of the brown sugar makes the muffin look pretty, you want desserts to look good and taste good, remember that.
- Melted Butter: The melted better pairs nicely together with the peanut butter and allows the ingredients to bind together nicely to create a crumb that is more formed together than fine pieces, think wet sand!
How to make homemade Buttermilk
Homemade buttermilk is very simple, and if I’m being honest I have never purchased store bought buttermilk. To make homemade buttermilk, simply combined 1/2 cup whole milk and 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup. Stir, then let sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. After 15 minutes you will see the milk look curdled, this is good! You created buttermilk. Make sure you get it a stir before adding it into the batter to help it be evenly distributed.
Why Blueberry and Peanut Butter?
I mean, why not? That’s the better question! This Blueberry muffin is an elevated version of your childhood peanut butter and jelly. It’s more sophisticated with flavors and the “grown up” breakfast treat that you need in your life. The subtle crunch of the peanut butter crumb with the burst of blueberries in every bite, you’ll be looking for peanut butter to put on all your muffins. Once you’re on the whole “putting peanut butter on muffin” band wagon, this recipe will save you TIME by incorporating all the flavors into one muffin! Love a time saving recipe.
Let’s Start Baking!
The Best Peanut Butter and Blueberry Crumb Muffins
Ingredients
Blueberry Muffins:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, (120ml) room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (120ml)
- 1/4 cup full fat sour cream, (60g) room temperature
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, (150g)
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour, (280g) spooned and leveled
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, optional
- 2 cups fresh blueberries, (280g) see note
Peanut Butter Crumb Topping:
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, (42g) melted
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, (40g) melted
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, (110g) packed
- 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour, (100g) spooned and leveled
- 1/2 tsp salt
Peanut Butter Drizzle:
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, (42g) melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners.
Peanut Butter Crumb Topping
- Place unsalted butter and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt together (I did this in 15 second intervals, mixing in between until it’s smooth and combined). In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, light brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon (optional). Pour the peanut butter mixture into the bowl and mix until combined with a fork. Once combined, place in fridge while you’re working on the muffin batter (see note*)
Blueberry Muffins:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring with a spatula until JUST combined (you want a few streaks of flour still). Gently fold in the blueberries. Do not over mix. Use a large cookie scoop to evenly distribute muffin batter among 12 cupcake tins. Sprinkle generously with peanut butter crumb topping.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. After 10 minutes, lower oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 14-16 minutes. Do not open the door when changing the temperature.
- Muffins are done with a toothpick inserted and just a few crumbs come off. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. At this time you can drizzle additional melted peanut butter if desired.
Notes
You Had Me at Muffin….
You know that story about how a Doctor meets a Nurse and they fall in love at first sight and live happily ever after? It was a chilly Sunday morning, November 13th to be exact (and people wonder why I love the number 13), while I was working bedside at a level one trauma center in Upstate New York. I heard a voice from someone standing behind me, paused and I looked at my phone and saw it was 6:43am and immediately was furious at why someone was talking to me this early in the morning. Then I turned around….and if you could picture the iconic scene where light coming from heaven is shining on a cute guy with a singing choir going off in the background, that’s the moment I had. There was a doctor standing behind me, one who I have never seen before, asking me about a patient and if I could sign a consent. One consent being signed quickly turned into a casual conversation about how I bake desserts and give them to staff, patients, and family members turned into my favorite line about the day we met… “Wait, you make muffins????”
Early on into us starting to date, I realized every time he had a blueberry muffin, he would ask for it toasted with a side of peanut butter….so I started to think. How could I create this combination he loves so much that’s easy to transport and most importantly EAT!
That’s how this Blueberry Muffin with Peanut Butter Crumb Topping came to life. Giving the best of both worlds to someone special who has given me the best moments of my life since that one morning in the hospital.
To the person who encouraged me to start my Instagram page, start a website, is always pushing me to pursue my dreams and is my number one taste tester, this recipe is dedicated to you. I love you more than anything.
P.S. I hope you’re ready for a lifelong supply of endless desserts baked by yours truly.
Did you make these?
If you tested out this recipe make sure to leave a comment below letting me know what you think! And as always, make sure you tag me on Instagram @bakedby_brittney