You know what I love most about this time of year? The fact that everyone is busy with the holidays. This leaves me with ample free time to actually spend lazy mornings catching up with a stack of magazines and enough time to get in the kitchen and bake. And when a craving for muffins called, well, I answered. Loaded with plump blueberries and the zing of lemon zest, these muffins took me a few tries before getting them just the way I wanted them.

I think I became so used to mass-produced muffins from coffee chains and cardboard boxes that I truly forgot how great they can be when made at home.  And easy, I might add. This recipe features a whole lotta lemon in the forms of juice, extract and zest, but the secret ingredient is a cup of creme fraiche. They're light and flavorful, not too dense, just sweet enough and they have their own lemony streusel topping. I love these muffins with a cup of tea.

Heat oven to 400˚.

Grease muffin pan or line with paper cups.

Mix topping ingredients together, cutting in the butter with a pastry cutter or a fork until its crumbly. Set aside.

Toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour to coat.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the creme fraiche, milk, oil, egg and extract together. Pour the wet mixture into the dry, stir, add the lemon juice and continue to mix until the dough comes together. Fold in the blueberries.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, sprinkle with topping and bake in preheated oven for 20–25 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.