Blueberry Coffeecake Muffins

I'm always on the lookout for a great tasting, moist and light muffin. After making a muffin recipe that wasn't blog worthy (and received thumbs down from my kids) I was in serious need of a great recipe.

I found this recipe in a book called "500 Best Muffin Recipes" by Ester Brody and, thankfully, this muffin delivered. The sour cream keeps the muffin moist and slightly tangy and it's a great way to use up the frozen blueberries that have made a home in my freezer. I also loved that the ingredients are layered so the blueberries don't stain the batter and make it look like something Baker Smurf would serve.

Yield: 12 muffins

Topping
2 tbsp margarine or butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Muffins
3/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed and well-drained (see Note below)

Preheat oven to 400F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or grease. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and blend well. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir just until moistened and blended. Don't over mix (overmixing will produce tougher muffins!!)!!

Spoon batter into muffin tins, only filling cups half full. Sprinkle half of the blueberries onto the batter in the muffin cups. Top with remaining batter then sprinkle with remaining blueberries. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: To thaw my blueberries and drain them well at the same time, I put them into a small collander over a cereal bowl. As the blueberries thawed the excess moisture dripped into the cereal bowl. Amazing how much moisture is in frozen berries!