A recipe for the best high altitude blueberry crumb muffins is something I’ve been working on for years. Of all the muffins, blueberry is my favorite, and I’ve made dozens of batches of blueberry muffins to perfect my recipe. With big fluffy muffin tops, loads of buttery crumb topping and a tender and flavorful crumb that’s bursting with blueberries in every bite, these muffins win on every point and bake up perfectly at mountain altitudes. You can even bake them in a mini muffin pan, too, for the cutest mini blueberry muffins.
Looking for more high altitude blueberry recipes? Don’t miss this blueberry lattice pie, brown butter blueberry crumb bars, and blueberry vanilla layer cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Soft, Tender and Fluffy. With rich, flavorful ingredients like whole milk, sour cream and butter, these have the best texture that’s so moist, soft and tender with big fluffy muffin tops.
Easy to Make. You only need standard pantry ingredients, a bowl and a whisk to make this easy muffin recipe.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Muffins
- All-Purpose Flour. Adds structure to the batter.
- Corn Starch. Tenderizes the crumb of the blueberry muffins.
- Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
- Baking Powder. Leavens the batter so the muffins rise with big muffin tops.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Nutmeg. Freshly grated nutmeg beautifully complements the flavor of the blueberries. You could also use cinnamon, cardamom, or just leave out the spices altogether.
- Milk + Sour Cream. Whole milk and sour cream adds flavor, richness and acidity for a moist, tender, fluffy blueberry streusel muffin.
- Eggs. Add structure and fat.
- Vanilla + Almond Extracts. You could use just vanilla extract, but the almond extract really adds such wonderful flavor to complement the blueberries and nutmeg.
- Unsalted Butter. Melted butter in the batter makes these blueberry muffins moist and flavorful.
- Blueberries. Fresh blueberries are best for making muffins, and the juicy bursts of flavor throughout are irresistible.
Crumb Topping
- Unsalted Butter. Adds moisture to the topping and a rich, buttery flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour. Thickens the crumb topping and gives it structure.
- Sugar. A combination of light brown sugar and granulated sugar adds sweetness and a hint of molasses in the topping.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
Instructions
Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 400 F, and line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Lightly spray the liners and the top of the pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, corn starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon/nutmeg.
- In a liquid measuring cup, use a fork to whisk together the milk, sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract. Whisk in the melted butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk together with a fork, just until combined, but some floury bits remain.
- Switch to a spatula, and briefly fold in the blueberries. The batter will be very thick.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups. The cups will be very full, with the batter mounded over the top of the cups.
Crumb Topping
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars, salt and melted butter until moist and crumbly.
- Pile the crumbs on top of the batter, pressing them slightly into the batter.
Bake
- Put the muffins in the oven, and immediately turn the temperature down from 400 F to 375 F.
- Bake the muffins for about 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully lift them out to cool on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve the muffins warm, with softened butter.
Recipe Variations
Mini Blueberry Muffins
- For mini blueberry muffins, preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray a mini muffin pan with 24 cups with non-stick baking spray (I didn’t use mini paper liners).
- Make the muffin batter as instructed, and divide it between the cups. Sprinkle the batter lightly with granulated sugar.
- Bake the muffins for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. For more browning, turn on the broiler for several minutes, leaving the oven door open so you can watch the muffins carefully. When they’re golden brown on top, take them out of the oven.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Fresh blueberries are best for baking blueberry muffins. If you use frozen berries, the excess moisture from the ice crystals can turn the batter purple, or even a greenish-gray color, which looks very unappealing. If frozen blueberries are your only option, though, you should let them thaw, and then pat them dry with paper towels. Fold them into the batter gently and briefly so that they don’t streak or discolor the batter.
Sour cream is my favorite for baking, but in a pinch, you can use full-fat, plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
Yes, you can certainly use oil instead of butter, and the muffins will be just as moist. Butter has a much better flavor for these blueberry crumb muffins, though.
Sure! These blueberry muffins are great with or without the crumb topping. If you omit the crumb topping, I suggest sprinkling the top of the batter with coarse Turbinado sugar before baking to give them a crunchy, golden brown top.
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Bakery Style High Altitude Blueberry Crumb Muffins
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Muffins
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 2 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg or cinnamon, optional
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup full fat sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 6 oz fresh blueberries (about 1 1/3 cups)
Crumb Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 400 F, and line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Lightly spray the liners and the top of the pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, corn starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon/nutmeg.
- In a liquid measuring cup, use a fork to whisk together the milk, sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract. Whisk in the melted butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk together with a fork, just until combined, but some floury bits remain.
- Switch to a spatula, and briefly fold in the blueberries. The batter will be very thick.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups. The cups will be very full, with the batter mounded over the top of the cups.
Crumb Topping
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars, salt and melted butter until moist and crumbly.
- Pile the crumbs on top of the batter, pressing them slightly into the batter.
Bake
- Put the muffins in the oven, and immediately turn the temperature down from 400 F to 375 F.
- Bake the muffins for about 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully lift them out to cool on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve the muffins warm, with softened butter.
Notes
- Leftovers will keep well for up to 3 days in an airtight container (cool completely first), or wrapped in plastic and frozen.
- To reheat the muffins, warm them for 45 seconds at 50% power in the microwave.
Perfect!
These muffins were amazing! I was so pleased. They were tall, light and just the right amount of sweet.
Thank you!
Amazing! I used tulip muffin cups to hold the height and crumb top. They turned out beautiful and delicious!
OMG!! Curly Girl website has the most amazing recipes. I live at 7200 elevation and all of the recipes have been awesome!!! I made the carrot cake, the blueberry muffins, white almond wedding cake, chocolate cake and they are the moistest, best crumb, deeeelicious recipes EVER!! Five stars all around.. My favorite website for all my baked goods. I’m going to try cookies and scones next! I made a wedding cake for my granddaughter and it came out perfect, and was fantastic!! Thank you so much!!
Perfect recipe! Delicious! My husband said “These muffins are delightful.”
Trying the cranberry orange muffin recipe next!
Soooo tasty! I doubled the recipe and got 40 muffins out of it- maybe my blueberries were big or I used too many… but a good problem to have! Also could be because I live at 7,900 feet. I used 1/2 quick oats, 1/2 flour for the streusel topping for extra crunch. Thank you for a gorgeous recipe!
BEST blueberry muffins EVER! We live at 7500 ft above sea level and they worked great with no modifications other than increased bake time. My son and hubby said they were the best they had ever eaten! Added chopped nuts into the crumble because we like nuts!