Blueberry Streusel Muffins

It's blueberry season in New Jersey and the big ripe berries are so juicy. Now is the perfect time to bake with them or freeze them for later.

Blueberries are perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) and cultivated (highbush)—are all native to North America. The highbush varieties were introduced into Europe during the 1930s.

Highbush blueberries were first cultivated in New Jersey around the beginning of the 20th century.

The website Blueberry History writes, "For centuries, blueberries were gathered from the forests and the bogs by Native Americans and consumed fresh and also preserved. The Northeast Native American tribes revered blueberries and much folklore developed around them. The blossom end of each berry, the calyx, forms the shape of a perfect five-pointed star; the elders of the tribe would tell of how the Great Spirit sent "star berries" to relieve the children's hunger during a famine."

This is an easy recipe that is low in fat and the muffins freeze beautifully. When they were hot, my husband ate three of them and told me they were so good. I didn't have the heart to tell him they were reduced fact, so that will be our little secret.

Let's get baking you'll need: Bake: 375 degrees Yields: 12 muffins Bake: 10 mins

2 1/4 cups flour (reserve 1/4 cup for topping)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg - beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 salt

12 tsp cinnamon

1 cup sugar (reserve 1/4 cup for topping)

3/4 cup fat free vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup low fat milk

2 cups blueberries

2 tsp melted butter

Muffins paper liners

Sift into a large bowl 2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside. Mix the sugar, egg and vanilla well. Alternate the dry ingredients with the milk until you have a batter. It will be lumpy and that's ok. FOLD the blueberries in GENTLY - do not stir you will break up the fragile berries.

Spoon equal amounts into the lined muffin tins (AKA: cupcake pans).

Let's make the topping:

Combine 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Use your fingers to crumble the ingredients together and place a little on the top of each muffin.

HINT: if you spray your baking pan with non-stick spray it makes an easy cleanup. The topping will go all over when it bakes and get crunchy.

Here's the fun surprise, this is a Weight Watchers recipe that I altered to make it my own! I replaced the fat free sour cream with fat free vanilla yogurt. In my opinion it has a sweeter taste and still has the tang needed for the muffins. Also added cinnamon in the topping and if you like you can add oats. I am not a texture fan for the topping and choice to leave them out.

Recipes are guidelines and you can make them your own by adding or subtracting what you prefer. I bet these muffins would be delicious with a lemon curd or lemon butter. Lemons and blueberries are a perfect match, like peanut butter and jelly.

Enjoy blueberry season!