Grandma’s Huckleberry Streusel Muffins
Lately my kids have been spending every second outside in the warm spring weather, which also means they’ve been eating us out of house and home. So I’ve been trying to make more filling homemade snacks instead of constantly buying packaged stuff at the store.
These huckleberry muffins feel like something straight out of a grandma’s recipe box — simple, cozy, not overly sweet, and perfect with coffee on a slow morning while the windows are open.
I’ve always loved picking berries in the summer, but last year I wasn’t able to find any wild huckleberries. Thankfully, one of my friends brought me back some huckleberries from Montana that had been sitting in my freezer waiting for the perfect recipe, and this ended up being that.
The buttery cinnamon streusel on top makes them feel extra cozy, and the little baking trick of starting the muffins at a higher temperature first helps them rise up soft and fluffy.
If you don’t have huckleberries, wild blueberries work perfectly too. I actually love using the small frozen wild blueberries from Costco for baked goods like this because they spread evenly throughout the muffins and give you little bites of berry in every bite.
And honestly, a little lemon zest and fresh lemon juice would be amazing in these too. I didn’t have any on hand when I made them, but I already know I’m trying that next time.
INGREDIENTS
Muffins
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh or frozen huckleberries (thawed if frozen)
Streusel Topping
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons cold butter
- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line or grease a muffin tin.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Add the melted butter, milk, and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. The batter will still be a little lumpy, and that’s perfectly okay. Be careful not to overmix.
- Gently fold in the huckleberries.
- To make the streusel topping, mix together the brown sugar, white sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and optional oats. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or even just a whisk until crumbly.
- Scoop the batter into a greased or lined muffin tin, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of streusel topping over each muffin.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking another 10 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
These made about 20 muffins for me, and they disappeared almost as fast as I made them.