Mini Blueberry-Lemon Muffins with Buttermilk

Each of these adorable lemon blueberry mini muffins has one whole blueberry in the center. They're so cute and just as fun to make as they are to eat. If you need a baking idea with blueberries, these are perfect for a quick snack break or as a picnic treat!

I am obsessed with homemade muffin recipes lately and these mini lemon blueberry poppyseed muffins one some of my faves!

I love combo of lemon and poppyseed and I love the combo of lemon and blueberry, so decided the perfect way to celebrate these flavors was by concentrating them into adorable bite-size mini muffins. Each mini muffin has one whole blueberry in the middle and a crackly lemon sugar topping that is so good.

In fact, I love this mini muffin format so much I even riffed on it to make these cranberry orange mini muffins which have one whole cranberry in the middle and an orange sugar on top!

If you're looking for another recipe with blueberries, or don't have a mini muffin pan, you may like my super moist lemon-blueberry sour cream pound cake which also has a lemon sugar topping!

Why This Recipe Works

These mini lemon blueberry muffins are tiny but mighty thanks to a bright blueberry center just bursting with flavor.

Lemon and blueberry are a classic flavor combination, and though these are mini muffins, I've used a few special techniques to dial the flavors up to the max.

What better way to ensure an even distribution of blueberries in a mini muffin recipe than to put one giant, juicy blueberry in the center of each muffin? It might seem a little fussy having to tuck each blueberry carefully beneath the muffin batter, but it's the best way to get that perfect blueberry center.

And the lemon sugar on top is, well, it's not the icing on the cake — but it is the sugar on the muffin!

Why does this recipe call for letting the muffin batter "rest"? Baking powder is double acting — it reacts first in contact with liquid and again in the heat of the oven. Letting the batter rest helps fully hydrate the baking powder and helps your muffins rise more in the oven. This is a tip I picked up from Hummingbird High's sky high blueberry muffin recipe, and while these mini muffins won't rise nearly as high as hers, the resting period will give them an extra boost and a nicer texture.

Ingredient Notes

These lemon-blueberry mini muffins need a few special ingredients, but all of them should be easy to find at your grocery store! As always, weigh the ingredients for best results.

• Flour - Regular all-purpose flour is fine. I use King Arthur Baking Company's all-purpose flour.
• Sugar - Plain white granulated sugar. The stuff you think of when you think of sugar.
• Lemon zest - Fresh is best! Use a microplane or the small very pointy side of a box grater. You'll need the zest of one whole lemon, but half of it will be used in the batter and the other half in the sugar you sprinkle on top of the muffins. If you want a strong lemon flavor, use a large lemon. If you want a mild lemon flavor, use a small lemon.
• Buttermilk - I know it's not the easiest to find but real buttermilk it's totally worth it for super tender baked goods. If you really, really, really can't find buttermilk see the FAQ below for some Practical Kitchen-approved buttermilk substitutions.
• Poppy seeds - Poppy seeds can be hard to find in the grocery store, but you can order them online from Burlap & Barrel.
• Eggs - One large egg! In the U.S. a large egg (shell removed) is approximately 57 grams.
• Blueberries - The bigger the better! If you need a baking idea with blueberries, especially ones that are juuuust starting to wrinkle, this is perfect. Make sure you sift through them to remove any stems!
• Baking powder - I like this aluminum-free baking powder. Baking powder has a 6 month shelf life; make sure yours is fresh!
• Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in all of my recipes. If you're measuring by volume (teaspoons), use half as much of any other brand or type of salt, including another type of kosher salt. If you're measuring the salt by weight, you don't need to make any adjustments.

• Soak poppyseeds. Stir the poppyseeds into the buttermilk and set aside for 30 minutes at room temperature. This helps bring the buttermilk to room temperature, too.
• Bring the egg to room temperature. Submerge the egg in hot water for 5-10 minutes prior to use. You can do this at the same time as the poppyseeds if you want, the egg will be fine in the water for 30 minutes.
• Measure the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. You don't have to do this in advance, but what else are you going to do while the poppy seeds soak? Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest together in a medium mixing bowl.

It is super important that the liquid ingredients (egg, buttermilk) are at room temperature before you add the butter. If your eggs and buttermilk are cold when you add the melted butter, the melted butter will firm up and incorporate unevenly.

How to Make Lemon Blueberry Mini Muffins

Lemon blueberry mini muffins follow your standard muffin making procedure: mix the dry ingredients together, mix the wet ingredients together, then fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined.

The only prep-ahead step is to make sure you soak the poppy seeds in advance (this also gives the buttermilk time to come to room temp). You also want to have the eggs at room temp so the melted butter doesn't solidify when you mix it into the other wet ingredients.

Why soak the poppy seeds? Poppy seeds have a hard outer shell which can be hard to digest if they don't soak before you bake them. By letting them soak for 30 minutes in the buttermilk, you soften the seeds and bring the buttermilk down to room temperature. This also infuses the buttermilk with poppyseed flavor.

Start by whisking the egg and sugar into the buttermilk and poppyseed mixture. You want to break the egg up pretty well here. (And yes, in baking, sugar counts as a wet ingredient.)

When you mix flour with wet ingredients, the flour will begin developing a gluten network. Gluten provides strength and structure which is great in bread, but not something we want when we're making delicate, tender muffins.

Folding is a super gentle mixing technique. It's used when mixing something light with something heavy (e.g. whipped egg whites into chocolate ganache) and in some quickbread and muffin recipes to avoid developing too much gluten in the batter.

When mixing muffin batter, the goal is to mix the wet and dry ingredients in as few motions as possible just until combined and then STOP. The stiff wire coil of a dough whisk is a super efficient way to gently mix the batter without developing too much gluten.

Once the lemon poppyseed muffin batter is mixed, cover the bowl and set it aside to rest for 30-60 minutes. This gives the baking powder time to activate. It's a little hard to tell after just 30 minutes, but you'll be able to tell the mini muffin batter looks a little airier and bubbly!

Assembling Mini Blueberry-Lemon Muffins

Line the wells of a mini muffin pan with mini muffin liners. If you have a good non-stick mini muffin pan, you don't necessarily need them but I always use them because it's easier to clean up later.

Then, use a toothpick to gently and carefully push the muffin batter over each blueberry to tuck them inside.

Yes this step is a little bit fussy, but it's so worth it! I find sliding the toothpick under or around the blueberry and then "pulling" or "folding" the batter over the blueberry works well.

It's okay if the blueberries are still a little bit visible under the muffin batter, just get them tucked in as best you can.

You can use the back of the spoon to spread it out evenly, but I kind of like leaving the sugar a little bit clumpy on top.

How Long to Bake Mini Muffins

Because they're so small and have a big ol' blueberry center, this mini muffin recipe has a bake time of just 13-15 minutes. They go into the oven at a higher heat — 400°F — to activate the baking powder and give them a taller rise.

When a toothpick inserted comes out clean (or a thermometer registers between 190°-210°F) they're done. Just make sure not to pierce a blueberry with the toothpick or thermometer!

Let these buttermilk lemon-blueberry muffins cool completely before eating. They're small and delicate with an unstable center; if you try to peel the paper off while they're warm, the paper won't release cleanly.

Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

• DO NOT OVER MIX. This is the biggest mistake people make with muffin recipes. When you mix the batter together you're starting to create gluten strands — those gluten strands tighten up and create tough muffins with air trapped inside. For tender muffins gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with slow, smooth strokes. Stop mixing as soon as there are no dry bits in the bowl and walk away. Don't worry about lumps, they'll bake out in the oven.
• Your liquid ingredients need to be at room temperature before you add the butter. If the eggs and buttermilk are cold when you add the melted butter, the melted butter will firm up as you pour it in and incorporate unevenly.
• To zest the lemon, you'll want a fine rasp-style zester. I swear by Microplane's classic zester (it comes in a bunch of fun colors!) and if you use code TPK10 you'll get 10% off your whole order!

FAQ: What can I use instead of buttermilk?

My favorite substitute for buttermilk is buttermilk powder. Mix 1 tablespoon in with the dry ingredients and use 57 grams warm whole milk or warm water in place of the buttermilk. America's Test Kitchen even approves of this swap (h/t to recipe tester Beth for this tip!). I tested this myself and it worked remarkably well, way better than I expected! I wouldn't say it's a perfect buttermilk substitute for every recipe, but it does work just fine here. As a bonus: Buttermilk powder can last a long time in the fridge, much longer than fresh buttermilk.

FAQ: Can I use a stand mixer or hand mixer to make muffins?

I don't recommend it unless you have limited dexterity preventing you from stirring comfortably. One of the biggest reasons muffin recipes fail is because of over-mixing. The high speed and power of most mixers will give you tough muffins with lots of tunneling inside. If you need to use a mixer, make sure to use the lowest possible setting and stop mixing as soon as the batter is combined.

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