Gourmet (Looking) Blueberry Muffins

my parents go to a small church with only the main worship service (no sunday school or anything), and it gets out pretty early, at around 10am. so we usually go to breakfast afterwards. well, one sunday, we went to mimi's cafe, and i ordered a meal that had a blueberry muffin with it. i was so full from everything else that i couldn't eat the muffin, but it looked so good that i wanted to save it for later... but my parents wanted it right then! when i protested, my mom said, "why don't we just make some blueberry muffins today?" i acquiesced, and she ate part of my muffin.

so, after we left the restaurant, we went to the grocery store and bought a blueberry muffin mix. i wanted to get some additional fresh blueberries to put in there, but instead we just got a mix that boasted having a can of real blueberries (betty crocker, i think), which was enough for me.

when we got home, i made the muffins. i followed the directions on the box and everything. but, you know me, i can't leave well enough alone when it comes to cake mixes. so i made a crumble topping and put a generous amount of that on the muffins, and also topped them with sparkle sugar!


the muffins baked up so nice and golden brown, and a little crunchy with the sugar and the crumble. oh man, were they good!


they looked so gourmet and special, and they tasted delicious! i was so impressed with those muffins, even more than i usually am.

so, here's the "recipe:"

• make the muffin mix: this is pretty self-explanatory--get a mix and follow the directions. fill the muffin tin cups only about halfway, to leave room for the crumble, which is really the best part anyway.
• make the crumble topping: crumble topping is an inexact process, but here's a good starting point: 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 packed brown sugar, 1/2 stick cold butter (you want a crumble, not a dough), and a splash of cinnamon (optional) and a pinch of salt (also optional). pulse in a food processor. or if you don't have one, like me, use a fork or a pastry cutter to sort of mash the butter and the sugar together. if you think it needs more sugar or butter, add it. you can also add some oatmeal instead of some of the flour, or in addition. like i said, crumble topping is quite imprecise. just do it until it tastes good.
• spoon the crumble into the muffin cups. be liberal! like i said, the crumble topping is really the best part anyway.
• sprinkle each muffin with a pinch or two of sparkle sugar.
• bake as directed on the muffin mix, maybe a little longer to crisp up the crumble topping.
• voy-ola! gourmet muffins that nobody will ever know came from a mix!