This fun and easy blueberry quick bread recipe has its origins in two recent food writing projects: first, an assignment to develop quick bread recipes for a client, and second, a recipe for blueberry streusel coffee cake that Renee Schuler of Eat Well Catering & Feasts shared for “The Findlay Market Cookbook.”
It doesn’t always work out that recipes I tinker with come out right the first time, but these little mini quick breads were just so delicious and cute. (Yay!)
It’s the tail end of blueberry season around here, so I had a cupful to spare for these little treats. (The rest are bagged and waiting in my freezer, to be enjoyed on a bowl of granola or oatmeal in the dead of winter.) The base recipe (sans fruit) is super flexible: You could stir in a mashed-up overripe banana, or some diced ripe peaches or nuts and chocolate chips. Note that the ingredients below include a note on substituting lowfat or fat-free yogurt for half the shortening. You could also bake off the batter in muffin tins (decrease baking time by 5–10 minutes), or in a full-sized loaf pan (increase the baking time by 5–10 minutes). These mini blueberry streusel loaves are great for breakfast, for snacking, even as a before-bed nibble. (Not that I’d know about that …)
mini blueberry streusel quick breads recipe
makes 3 mini loaves
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening (or 1/4 cup shortening + 1/4 cup + 2 TB lowfat/fatfree yogurt)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh blueberries
for the streusel:
3 Tbsp. cold butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees; spray three mini loaf pans with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), blend the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix well; add half the buttermilk and mix. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, the remaining buttermilk and, finally, the remaining dry ingredients, stirring well with each addition. Gently stir in the blueberries. In a small bowl, use your fingers to combine the streusel ingredients, creating peanut-sized clumps. Divide the batter among the 3 pans; scatter the streusel on top of the batter. Place the mini loaf pans on a rimmed baking sheet; bake for 45–50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (free of batter or moist crumbs) and the streusel is golden. Cool for 30 minutes, remove the loaves from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
Love your recipe suggestions & adaptations. Made the bacon zucchini pie last week and loved the ricotta addition.
Thanks for the comment, Mary — and I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe for bacon and zucchini pie!