Blueberry Cinnamon Toast Crunch Muffins

Moist blueberry muffins are taken to a new level of deliciousness by adding a crunchy streusel made with crushed cinnamon toast crunch cereal on top of the muffin, and also by adding crushed cereal to the batter for extra texture.

This recipe is one of my American favorites. My kids give it two thumbs up, since they're very partial to a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch in the morning. The topping on these muffins is a winner in our house.

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Extra Large New York Style Blueberry Muffins

Most of the recipes I share are Irish, learned during my formative years growing up in Dublin. But every now and then, I just have to share a recipe I've adopted in America. Learning to cook tried and trusted American recipes is simply part of my American evolution.

And today, extra large blueberry muffins are being served up by this Irish American Mom.

The sugary-cinnamon crumb topping made with cinnamon toast crunch cereal sets this recipe apart. These are deli-sized muffins - extra, extra large just like you find in New York. That's where my love of blueberry muffins first began.

I often munched on one when walking to work in the city after getting the Path train to 33rd Street from Hoboken. That was many moons ago, but I still do love a good blueberry muffin.

I've fond memories of New York deli food, not to mind the wonderful pastries found in Hoboken's amazing bakeries. I hope you'll enjoy these New York inspired, over-the-top, large breakfast muffins.

Do Blueberries Grow In Ireland?

Blueberries are native to North America, but they do grow in Ireland in places with acidic soil. Blueberry bushes are often planted in containers by Irish gardening enthusiasts and they produce wonderful summer fruit. However, the blueberry bush is an import to the Emerald Isle.

The closest native Irish counterpart to the blueberry is known as the bilberry. These small round berries grow wild in rural Ireland, and they are very similar to blueberries in shape and color. However, their taste is quite different, with bilberries being far tarter than a sweet blueberry.

In Ireland bilberries are known as fraughans in some parts of the country. This is a Hiberno-English term for "fraocháin" (pronounced fray-uck-awn), which is the Irish language term for these little berries.

My father from County Cork calls these juicy wild berries by the name hurts. This apparently is a shortened version of the name whortleberry, which is another name for this wild fruit.

Now bilberries are not sold extensively in Ireland anymore. But they can still be gathered in the hedgerows of rural Ireland in the late summer and early fall or autumn.

You may have come to this blog for a muffin recipe, but never expected a lesson in wild Irish hedgerows and heritage. Welcome to our Irish American world, a little corner of the internet where we discuss all things Irish and Irish American, even when sharing a simple recipe.

Since I definitely cannot find bilberries in the grocery store for baking in America or modern day Ireland, blueberries are the next best thing, or maybe even a better thing, since they're so sweet and juicy.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

These are delicious muffins, so here's why I think you too will love them:

• They’re extra large and extra full of delicious blueberries.
• They're choc full of blueberry flavor in every bite.
• They're super moist thanks to the addition of Greek yogurt in the batter.
• The crushed cinnamon toast crunch helps to give them a little texture plus it helps prevent the blueberries from sinking while cooking.
• There's a delicious hint of cinnamon in every bite.

Are frozen or fresh blueberries best for baking muffins?

I usually choose fresh blueberries when baking muffins or any other baked goods.

You can use frozen, but the trick is to add them to your batter while still frozen. If you defrost them they can make the batter too loose and this increases the risk of them sinking to the bottom while the muffins cook.

Fresh blueberries just work every time for me, and don't tend to fall to the bottom of my baked goods. I also use fresh berries in my blueberry scones recipe.

Ingredients for Blueberry Cinnamon Toast Crunch Muffins

Here you’ll find a quick list of what you’ll need for this recipe. Check out the printable recipe at the bottom of this post for US and Metric equivalent versions of the recipe. There you can choose the measurement system that works best for you.

Ingredients for the Muffin Batter

• flour
• cinnamon toast crunch cereal - crushed into fine crumbs
• baking powder
• salt
• eggs
• sugar
• Greek yogurt
• vegetable oil
• vanilla
• blueberries - washed and drained

Ingredients for the Streusel Topping

• flour
• brown sugar
• melted butter
• cinnamon toast crunch cereal - crumbled
• pure vanilla extract

Directions / Instructions

Here you’ll find step-by-step photographic instructions to help you recreate this recipe successfully. There are plenty of tips included along the way.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next crumble the cereal.

This can be done in a food processor by place the cinnamon toast crunch cereal in the food processor, and pulsing it into fine crumbs.

If you don't own a food processor place the cereal in a bag and use a rolling pin to crush it.

In a bowl, combine the flour, cereal crumbs, baking powder, and salt, and stir well to blend.

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar and eggs, and mix until light and fluffy.

Add the Greek yogurt, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

Next add the flour mixture, mixing in between additions, until all ingredients are added, and well blended.

Remove the mixing bowl, and gently fold in the blueberries.

Grease and flour a jumbo muffin pan. Fill the muffin tins ⅔ - ¾ full, and set aside.

Next, make the streusel.

In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and cinnamon toast crumbled cereal, and stir well, until completely combined, and resembles crumbles.

Add the topping, evenly, to the muffin batter in the muffin pan, heaping the topping on the muffins.

Place the muffins in the oven for 25 minutes, until they're golden brown, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the muffins to a wire rack, and let cool.

This recipe makes 6 jumbo muffins or if you prefer smaller muffins it will make 12 regular sized buns. Making the smaller makes them a little less calorie laden too.

These muffins are truly delicious!

Recipe Card

Keep this recipe handy by printing it below, and by filing it in your own recipe collection.

Moist and tender with lots of blueberries, their crunchy streusel topping just finish them off perfectly.

As you can see, these muffins are really easy to make. No need to pay top dollar for bakery muffins anymore, that often come with extra preservatives. These New York style jumbo muffins rival the breakfast pastries found in the very best of bakeries.

If you like baking and cooking with blueberries you might like these other recipes too.

Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Blueberry Scones

Layered Blueberry Salad

Red White and Blue Trifle: Independence Day Dessert Recipe

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