One of my pet peeves when ordering a blueberry muffin from a bakery is discovering that there aren’t all that many blueberries inside of it. I like it when blueberry muffins are bursting with sweet, fruity berries – and I want to have at least one in every bite. These Blueberry Almond Muffins are bursting with blueberries, all packed inside a delicious almond muffin that is just dense enough to hold them up without letting them sink to the bottom.

The key to successful blueberry muffins is having a good batter. This one incorporates ground almonds to give the batter a little extra substance, allowing it to support the berries. While it might be a bit denser than other batters, the muffins still feel very tender and light because there are so many berries packed in there, held together with just the right amount of batter.

The batter is flavored with almond and vanilla extracts to highlight the jammy berries, and you can add in a handful of chopped almonds if you prefer to bring a little crunch into the mix. Personally, I like them both ways, even though the batch pictured here does not include almonds. Another nice finishing touch is to add a few sliced almonds to the top of the muffins, along with a sprinkle of coarse sugar, just before baking.

You’re going to need a lot of blueberries for this recipe and I recommend using fresh berries. While frozen berries can be used, they tend to release more liquid into the batter (even when they’re used from frozen), so I find that the muffins can be a touch too moist when made with frozen berries. That being said, you can help things out by cutting back slightly on the berries when you’re using frozen (going down to 1 1/2 cups from 2 cups) and by tossing the berries in flour before stirring them in. When fresh berries are in season, make the most of them and put these muffins into your regular rotation!

Blueberry Almond Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup almond flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups blueberries (pref. fresh)
1/3 cup chopped or slivered almonds (optional)
coarse sugar, for topping

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, egg, buttermilk, vanilla and almond extract. Pour into bowl containing dry ingredients and mix just until no streaks of flour remain. Fold in blueberries (and almonds, if using).
Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each quite full. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.
Turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool before serving.

Makes 12.

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