In the past, I haven't found a blueberry muffin recipe that I really like. They are normally just bland muffins with blueberries thrown in. I have found the solution - jazz up the streusel! I found a good basic muffin recipe, tweaked it a bit to reduce the white sugar, and then made an awesome streusel topping for it. The unlikely combination - ginger powder and poppy seeds! The ginger gives the streusel a flavor kick and the poppy seeds give it crunch. If you have chia seeds, you could use them instead of the poppy seeds; I just happened to see the poppy seeds on the shelf first (plus they are cheaper).
I have made them three times in the past week and a half and they were delicious each time, though the second time the streusel kind of sunk into the muffin instead of staying on top. I think that was because I used butter, so I then used coconut oil the third time (which is what I think I did the first time also) and the streusel clumped together better. (Clumping doesn't sound appetizing, but that is what you want streusel to do!)
Blueberry Muffins with a Ginger Poppy Seed Streusel
1. For the streusel topping, combine the following: 2 tablespoons of cold or room temperature coconut oil (not melted), 1/2 cup of brown/turbinado sugar, 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger. Use a fork to combine the ingredients until crumbly (clumpy). Set aside and try not to eat it all while you are making the muffin batter. Children may need to be restrained.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Arrange liners* in a muffin tin or grease with butter or oil.
3. Combine the following in a large bowl: 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/4 cup of white sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
4. Add 1/3 cup of veggie oil, 1/3 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of maple syrup, and 1 beaten egg.
5. Mix all ingredients until just combined.
6. Fold in 1 cup of blueberries. I used the larger highbush blueberries, not smaller Maine blueberries. If using those, you may want to do 1 1/2 cups.
7. Pour into muffin tin and distribute streusel topping evenly on top of each muffin.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until done. (Top is springy to the touch.)
*I normally use olive oil to grease the pans and do not use disposable liners because of the waste involved. However, I received these silicone muffin liners as a Christmas gift and while I am wary of using plasticky things, most studies claim that silicone is safe to use with food. I won't be decking my whole kitchen in silicone - it just feels unnatural to me - but these work well for muffins.