“It’s time to give the classic blueberry muffin a makeover,” writes Roxana Jullapat in her cookbook Mother Grains (out April 2021). She swaps out refined white flour for nutty, whole-grain spelt, a type of wheat that’s loaded with fiber, iron, and manganese. Spelt behaves similarly to all-purpose flour (but has more flavor!); you can swap it in a 1:1 ratio in most baked goods other than bread. Notes for this recipe: Jullapat prefers to use frozen blueberries because the fruit doesn’t get smashed while mixing the batter. If you’re using fresh berries, just fold them in extra gently. Don’t skip the spelt streusel topping. It adds delicious crunch to your muffins and helps keep them moist longer.
Ingredients
streusel
3
2
2
2
muffins
1½
1
½
¼
¼
1
⅔
⅓
⅓
½
Preparation
Streusel
Step 1
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Lightly coat a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with paper liners. Whisk spelt flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add butter and toss to coat. Working quickly, smash in butter with your fingers until pieces are about pea-size. Chill streusel until ready to use.
Muffins
Step 2
Whisk spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl until there are no lumps. Make a well in the center with your hands. Whisk egg, brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Pour into well and whisk to combine. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries. Evenly divide batter among 8–10 muffin cups, filling each with about ¼ cup batter. Top each muffin with about 1 Tbsp. streusel; bake, rotating pan halfway through, until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 24–27 minutes. Let muffins cool in pan 20 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack; let cool completely.
Do ahead: Muffins can be baked 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
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Reviews (47)
Back to TopWe aren't muffin people, but this recipe looked so good! It did turn out so good that my husband asked me to make it again, and our friends asked for the recipe after I brought some muffins over to them. I changed the recipe to make 6 over sized muffins. I used my husband's wild blueberries (almost 3/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup). I left out the lemon zest. I added 1 tsp lemon juice to 1/3 cup 1% milk to make the buttermilk equivalent. I baked the muffin tray at 350 for 24 minutes, and then after checking them, went for the full 27 minutes.
Thekansaspyet
Connecticut
5/31/2022
i'm allergic to eggs too. i would add applesauce equivalent to the same weight of the eggs. so, according to google that would be roughly 2oz applesauce. this is not a meringue or anything, baked goods usually just need some liquid to bind the dry ingredients.
Cam K
Minneapolis, MN
4/3/2022
I have many food sensitivities and wonder what you would substitute for the egg?
Cheryl Stephens
West Kelowna, BC, Canada.
9/19/2021
I bake two batches of these muffins weekly. One batch I bake for myself which I place in my refrigerator freezer and take out one daily. When my neighbour, Donny, was diagnosed with cancer, I took her over a batch of these muffins that I had just baked and she couldn't stop raving about them. So, the second batch, I bake for my neighbour who currently is undergoing cancer treatment; I make her a batch of twelve, and she loves them so much, she devours them within three days.
Anonymous
Toronto, Canada
6/12/2021
Excellent recipe! This is my first time working with spelt, and these are the best muffins I’ve ever made. The texture is perfect- they have nice integrity and are just moist enough. I like that they don’t fall apart. I was able to substitute vegan butter in the streusel and oat milk with lemon juice for the buttermilk and they came out perfectly. Definitely saving this and making these again
Kate
Florida
4/18/2021
Such a great go-to recipe! I've made them four times each time modifying the ingredients. I give them to my kindie and I don't think he needs that amount of sugar. I replace the 2/3s sugar with 1/4 and I replace the oil with apple sauce. Not as decadent as the original receipt but still great. If I were making these for guests I would stick to the original ingredients.
aves
Canada
3/2/2021
I made these last night and we were going to try just one, had to have another. I like these much better than white flour blueberry muffins, they have a more complex flavor and the spelt doesn't taste noticeably strange like I was expecting. Mine came out moist and springy, not crumbly or dry, with a good rise. I really focussed on not over-mixing and all of my ingredients were room temperature. The recipe produced 9 medium sized muffins with good tops.
Y
VT
2/24/2021