Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

I know I’ve talked about not liking fruit in baked goods even though I’ve posted a few different muffin recipes with raspberries and blueberries, but these muffins have converted me. Something about the nutty brown butter muffin base with the streusel topping.. Delicious. I’m a fan.

This past weekend, a couple of my friends and I went to Palm Springs for the weekend and it was amazing to get away from LA. We stayed at our friend’s work house and laid by the pool, ate food, and watched movies. We also took this AMAZING tram gondola ride up a mountain. I mentioned it briefly in the weeks Thursday Things but it’s such a cool thing. You drive up part of the mountain to elevation 2600ft and then you take a gondola up the rest of the way.  It can accommodate 80 people, the FLOOR rotates slowly so you get a 360 degree view, and it travels up to 8500 ft elevation.

You go from 95 degree F desert and when you get off the tram, it was like 45-50 degrees F in the middle of a state park and forest. It was incredible and beautiful. HUGE pine trees, little hiking trails, and just the complete opposite. It was amazing and I was so happy.

I found this recipe when I was browsing through the cookbook selection at the library. I haven’t read Joy the Baker’s cookbook before, and when flipping through it, I found a TON of recipes I wanted to try. But when trying to figure out what sort of snacky/breakfasty item to make for the Palm Springs weekend, this jumped right out at me.

Everyone really enjoyed them. You couldn’t taste the white whole wheat flour but it added a little more density to them. The brown butter offered an amazing nutty aroma that just enhanced the whole muffin for me. Definitely a keeper!

Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

makes about 12 muffins

For the muffins:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces fresh blueberries

For streusel topping:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin tin with liners and set aside.

For the muffins:
In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, whisk until brown flecks start appearing on the bottom and the butter is an amber color. Remove from heat, whisk for 10-15 more seconds, and then immediately transfer to a separate bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Slowly add brown butter and whisk everything together. Pour wet ingredients into bowl with flour. Carefully mix everything together with a spatula until combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Evenly divide batter between muffin liners.

For the streusel topping:
In a small bowl, add butter, flour, and sugar. Use your fingers to mix together until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over muffins.

Bake 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops are golden brown. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, and then serve warm or let cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container.

[source: adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook]