Blueberry Muffin Tops — If you like to eat just the tops of your muffins, you’re going to LOVE this EASY recipe for soft and tender blueberry muffin tops bursting with juicy berries in every bite!! Only 1/2 cup sugar in the entire batch!!
Buttermilk Blueberry Muffin Tops
These muffin tops are light, fluffy, tender, have a tiny bit of chewiness around the exterior, and are bursting with juicy blueberries in the interior. We couldn’t stop eating them and the batch lasted precisely one day.
Because there is only 1/2 cup sugar in the batter, the muffin tops are not overly sweet and are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or healthier snacks. If you want to sweeten them up a bit more, add a pinch of sugar to each muffin top midway through baking.
Make these blueberry muffin tops with those fresh blueberries you just bought and enjoy!
What’s in the Blueberry Muffin Tops?
To make these moist blueberry muffin tops, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Buttermilk
- Fresh blueberries
How to Make Blueberry Muffin Tops
Simply cream together butter, 1/2 cup sugar, an egg, and vanilla before adding the dry ingredients in addition to 1/4 cup of buttermilk and fresh blueberries.
Using a large spoon or an ice cream scoop, dollop the dough onto Silpat-lined baking sheets. You’ll be able to make about 10 muffin tops.
Place a few more berries on top of the muffin tops, then bake until done. You’re looking for the edges to turn ever so slightly golden brown.
Can I Use Frozen Blueberries?
I made these muffin tops with fresh blueberries and haven’t tested the recipe with frozen.
My guess, however, is that because this batter is already so moist, when the frozen berries would release their extra moisture and juices during baking, it would water down the batter and cause too much spreading in the muffin tops.
For that reason, I do recommend fresh blueberries. But if you do use frozen, let me know how things go in the comments.
Can I Substitute the Buttermilk?
I realize there’s only 1/4 cup buttermilk in the recipe and you may not keep buttermilk on hand and so you’ll have to buy a container of it just for this recipe, but just do it because it keeps the muffin tops so moist, tender, and perfectly light.
Then make these other recipes using buttermilk later.
You may be able to use sour cream or Greek yogurt in place of the buttermilk but I haven’t tested that so cannot say how much to use or what the final results will be like.
Tips for Making This Muffin Top Recipe
If you’ve never baked on a Silpat, it’s time to get started. These silicone mats provide traction to prevent excess spreading of your baked goods, which is normally cookie-baking for me, but in this case I found my Silpats so helpful for this muffin top recipe.
I fear that baking the muffin tops directly on a nonstick baking pan or on parchment (the equivalent of an ice skating rink for your baked goods) could result in excess spreading and you’ll have pancakes rather than muffin tops.
If you try the recipe and don’t use a Silpat, I would advise adding an extra 1/4-cup flour to the batter to thicken it up. I haven’t done this but it’s my baker’s hunch.
If you do end up with pancakes rather than muffin tops, they’ll still taste great I’m sure but just wasn’t quite the intended cosmetic appearance.
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Blueberry Muffin Tops
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar, plus optionally more for sprinkling the tops if desired
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon for tossing blueberries
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup fresh blueberries for batter, plus 1/2 cup for adding to the tops
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with Silpat baking mats; set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and beat on high-speed with a handheld electric mixer to cream the batter.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and beat to incorporate. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add 1 cup flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and beat to just incorporate; don't overmix.
- Add the buttermilk and beat to incorporate; set aside.
- To a separate small bowl, add 1 cup blueberries, 1 tablespoon flour, toss to combine, and add the blueberries and any residual flour to the large mixing bowl. Stir gently by hand to incorporate.
- Using a large cookie or ice cream scoop, divide the dough in 10 equal portions, distributed equally on the two baking sheets. Flatten the dough mounds slightly so they're uniformly about 2 inches high and not mounded up in the center to ensure even baking.
- Evenly distribute the remaining 1/2 cup blueberries over the 10 muffin tops, an extra 3-4 blueberries per muffin top.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until muffin tops are set in the center and cooked through, the bottoms will be ever so slightly golden browned around the edges; they firm up as they cool. Start watching at 15 minutes since all ovens and ingredients vary. Don't overbake to ensure soft and tender muffin tops. BAKING TIPS - Midway through baking I recommend turning your baking sheets for even baking and browning. If your berries are not very sweet or if you prefer slightly sweeter muffin tops, I recommend adding a pinch of sugar to each muffin top when you go to turn your baking sheets midway through baking.
- Allow the muffins tops to cool on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes before moving them. Muffin tops are best fresh but will keep airtight for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Blueberry Recipes:
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Healthy Blueberry Muffins— These easy blueberry muffins are made with Greek yogurt instead of butter, and there’s only a little vegetable oil and sugar in these. Don’t worry, these don’t taste healthy at all!
Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake – An EASY, no-mixer cake studded with juicy blueberries and topped with big buttery streusel nuggets that are just SO GOOD!! Not overly sweet and PERFECT with a cup of coffee for breakfast, brunch, or a snack!!
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I have not made this recipe yet. I usually have frozen blueberries and was wondering what you think about thawing the blueberries out and dust them in a little flour? I might just try it beings it doesn’t make too many.
Many times when I make blueberry muffins with frozen bb’s I just dust them in flour straight from the freezer and add them like that to the batter and bake right away. I actually think sometimes that thawing them first is not the way to go because sometimes they get really watery/mushy as they thaw so I tend to just skip thawing and add them cold. You will need to bake then for a few minutes additionally to account for the very cold batter.
great
I just baked these with raspberries and some mini chocolate chips. I don’t have Silpat so followed your advice of adding 1/4 cup more of flour. They turned out great!
I just baked these with raspberries and some mini chocolate chips. I don’t have Silpat so followed your advice of adding 1/4 cup more of flour. They turned out great!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad the advice to add a bit more flour worked for you and that they came out with raspberries and mini choc chips, too!
I made these two times so far. They are very good, not too sweet but very soft. I didn’t have any buttermilk so the first time I used regular milk mixed with lemon juice. The second time I made adouble batch using sur cream. Both batches were excellent. Thank you for the recipe.
I made these two times so far. They are very good, not too sweet but very soft. I didn’t have any buttermilk so the first time I used regular milk mixed with lemon juice. The second time I made adouble batch using sur cream. Both batches were excellent. Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you were able to sub for the buttermilk both times without any issues!
I just bought a muffin top pan and found this recipe to try. Followed directions and they are perfect! Thank you. I will be trying more of your recipes!
I just bought a muffin top pan and found this recipe to try. Followed directions and they are perfect! Thank you. I will be trying more of your recipes!
Glad these turned out great in your new pan!
These look yummy! Wanted to mention for those who dont have a silpat, they make a “muffin top” pan now…happy baking!
Hello! I made your blue berry muffin top muffins and they are outstanding! You mentioned using sour cream instead of buttermilk and this time that I made them I tried that, it worked very well. Since I almost always have sour cream in the fridge worked out very well. I love your recipes and will be trying more of them.
thanks again
Kris S.
Hello! I made your blue berry muffin top muffins and they are outstanding! You mentioned using sour cream instead of buttermilk and this time that I made them I tried that, it worked very well. Since I almost always have sour cream in the fridge worked out very well. I love your recipes and will be trying more of them.
thanks again
Kris S.
Glad to hear that sour cream worked well for you and that you will be trying more recipes!
Hi there! I had fun cruising around your website/blog. Your recipe for Blueberry Muffin Tops caught my eye. I had everything on hand, so it was a natural. The recipe was fun to make. Looks like a muffin, cooks like a cookie! We had friends stop by for coffee and the muffin tops were perfect to go with the coffee. Everyone loved them and asked for the recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I am glad to hear these were a hit with your friends and had everything on hand too!
Hi Averie. I made these yesterday and they were a hit. The edges were crispy and centers smooth. The only change I made was to use a heaping cup of mini chocolate chips instead of the blueberries. My grandchildren would not have tried them if I used blueberries. I also love the fact that I don’t need to use a muffin top pan. The recipe is a keeper. I’m going to try peanut butter the next time and even strawberries (grandchildren love strawberries). Thanks for such a great recipe.
Hi Averie. I made these yesterday and they were a hit. The edges were crispy and centers smooth. The only change I made was to use a heaping cup of mini chocolate chips instead of the blueberries. My grandchildren would not have tried them if I used blueberries. I also love the fact that I don’t need to use a muffin top pan. The recipe is a keeper. I’m going to try peanut butter the next time and even strawberries (grandchildren love strawberries). Thanks for such a great recipe.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad they worked great with mini choc chips! Great call for the grandkids!
I made thee last night and I only had frozen berries so I used them. They made a side-to-side cookie on each cookie sheet. I’m sure that it was because of the frozen berries. I broke them up into smaller pieces and they were delicious! Next time, I will use fresh berries.
I made thee last night and I only had frozen berries so I used them. They made a side-to-side cookie on each cookie sheet. I’m sure that it was because of the frozen berries. I broke them up into smaller pieces and they were delicious! Next time, I will use fresh berries.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad they still tasted delicious. Yes, it was the frozen berries I’m sure that caused the spreading which confirmed my hunch to use fresh for this recipe. Thanks for sharing your experience.