Mornings are better with muffins, and if your muffins are Blueberry Cornmeal Butter Muffins you’re pretty much guaranteed and epic day.  As you might have noticed, we eat blueberries in large amounts around here.  I like to down them by the handful and so do my kids so we keep a rich supply and sometimes they just call to me saying “please bake me into something delicious” and usually I acquiesce.  The cornmeal makes these have such a magical texture, and I love the lemon zest with the touch of cinnamon in your streusel, they are pretty amazing.  I’ve been making this beautiful batter as a cake for years, but I decided to make it into muffins because they are easier to share, and I freeze what we don’t eat the first day to make for more great muffin mornings.  I give you instructions for the cake version too, in case you have a cake habit like me.

Muffins:

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/3 cup sour cream

2 cups blueberries

Streusel:

1/2 cup sugar

6 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornmeal

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line 12 muffin tin with liners and lightly spray the bottom (or spray and parchment line an 8×8 pan if making cake).
2. Whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer beat the butter with sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy – at least a few minutes.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl occasionally.  Next add the vanilla and zest.
4. Add a third of flour mixture, all of the sour cream, and another third of the flour, beating until just blended after each addition.  Scrape down sides of bowl then mix the remaining third of the flour mixture with the blueberries folding the flour/blueberry layer into the cake batter (coating your blueberries in the flour helps them stay evenly distributed instead of dropping to the bottom of your muffins).
5. Fill each muffin liner about 2/3 of the way full.  (or spread into prepared pan for a cake)
6. To make the streusel combine the dry ingredients than mash in the butter with a fork or pastry blender.  Top each of the muffins with about 1/8-1/4 cup of streusel (or spread evenly on top if you’re making cake).
7. Bake muffins at 350 for about 20 minutes (in my oven it took 22 minutes) until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  (For a cake about 35 minutes).  cool for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen Cookbook Blueberry Cornmeal Butter Cake