Berry Pie Muffins

I made these for a weekend brunch.  They're not the simplest muffins out there, but they are delicious.  This recipe makes 12 extremely large muffins.  If I were making them again, I might scale the recipe down or else make 18 muffins.

I made two changes.  First, I realized I had only half the amount of blackberries, but rather than scaling down or rushing out to the store, I added in an equal amount of frozen raspberries that I had hiding in the freezer.  Second, I didn't have quick oats, so I substituted bulgar wheat.

Berry Pie Muffins (from The Hazel Bloom)

Ingredients
Topping
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats (or bulgar wheat)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Muffins
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest (I used zest from 1 lemon, so it ended up being a little more)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (I subbed 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice)
12 ounces fresh blackberries, cut in half (I used half fresh blackberry and half frozen raspberry)

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees, and line 12 muffin cups with liners (or grease the cups).
2. In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg and then stir in the sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, and lemon zest.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the buttermilk, and stir just until moistened.
6. Add the blackberries and stir until well incorporated.
7. Fill your muffin cups almost to the top with the batter.
8. Sprinkle the topping evenly over each cupcake.
9. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, until they're golden brown and the tops spring back when you poke at 'em.