Blackberry Swirl Muffins
Celebrate late summer flavors with these blackberry swirl muffins! Blackberry compote is swirled through a vanilla muffin and topped with an oat streusel for sweetness and texture. The muffins also contain Greek yogurt for added moisture and protein. Fruit, oats, and yogurt? Sounds like a great breakfast to me!
Make the Blackberry Compote
This simple homemade blackberry compote is made by heating blackberries (fresh or frozen), sugar, and lemon zest in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until the blackberries break down and the mixture thickens. You can also add a little bit of water if your compote is too thick or the berries start burning. Transfer it to a bowl and set aside from later.
Make the Oat Streusel Topping
Stir together flour, oats, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add cold, cubed butter and mix with your hands, forks, or pastry cutter (breaking up the butter as you go) until you have pea-sized clumps. A few larger clumps is okay. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the Muffin Batter
To make the muffin base, start by whisking together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl using a stand or handheld mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat room temperature butter on medium speed until smooth. Add granulated and brown sugars and mix until light and fluffy.
Next, add two eggs and vanilla extract and mix until fully combined. Then, add Greek yogurt and mix until fully incorporated. The mixture may be a bit lumpy, but this is okay.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Finally, add milk and mix until fully combined and smooth. This will be a thick batter like in the image below.
Assemble the Muffins
Line a 12-count muffin pan with liners. Evenly distribute half of the batter into the pan. Add a spoonful of blackberry compote to each muffin then top with the remaining muffin batter. The muffin liners should be almost all of the way full.
Use a knife to swirl the batter and compote together, using both up-and-down and side-to-side motions to make sure the compote is distributed throughout the muffin. The compote and batter should not be fully mixed so you have a contrast in colors in a swirl pattern. Sprinkle a generous amount of the streusel on top of each muffin.
Bake and Enjoy!
Bake the muffins at 425°F for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 350°F and bake for an additional 15-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. This baking method produces that bakery style crunchy muffin top.
Allow the muffins to cool into the pan for 5 minutes before removing.
Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperatures for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the muffins for up to 3 months. To reheat, flash bake in a 425°F oven for about 2 minutes.
Not a fan of blackberries? Try these with raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, or a combination of multiple!
Blackberry Swirl Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cups blackberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 tbsp sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 1/4 cup milk, room temperature
Instructions
- To make the blackberry compote: Heat blackberries, sugar, and lemon zest in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the blackberries have broken down and the mixture thickens. You can add a splash of water if find your mixture burning. Transfer to a bowl until ready to use.
- To make the oat streusel topping: Stir together the flour, oats, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the cubed butter and mix with your hands, forks, or pastry cutter breaking up the butter as you go until you have pea-sized clumps. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- To make the muffins: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a 12-count muffin pan with muffin liners.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Using a stand or handheld mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugars and mix until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until fully combined. Add the Greek yogurt and mix until fully incorporated. The mixture may be a bit lumpy, but this is okay.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Add the milk and mix until fully combined and smooth. This will be a thick batter
- Evenly distribute half of the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Add a spoonful of blackberry compote to each muffin then top with the remaining muffin batter. The muffins should be almost all of the way full. Use a knife to swirl the batter and compote together, using both up-and-down and side-to-side motions to make sure the compote is distributed throughout the muffin.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of the streusel on top of each muffin.
- Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 350°F and bake for an additional 15-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool into the pan for 5 minutes before removing.
Notes
- Storage Instructions: Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperatures for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the muffins for up to 3 months. To reheat, flash bake in a 425°F oven for about 2 minutes.
- Variations: You can replace the blackberries with other fruit such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, or a combination.
