Berry Cream Muffins

I made these this morning. This is one of my favorite muffin recipes- you can use whatever berry you like. I usually use raspberries cuz we had tons of bushes at our old house. This house doesn't have any... yet. Perhaps in a few summers we will have some to speak of. I got this recipe from the Taste of Home Cookbook, but I've tweaked it. This is 1 1/2 times the recipe originally in the ToH book, because I hate ending up with an odd number of muffins, like 15 or 16 or 17. It's a pain to fill all the rest of those muffin cups with water. I'm already mixing up the batter- might as well make a few more while I'm at it. This way you end up with an even two dozen if you fill them 2/3 full. Plus my daughter just inhales these. She had 2 1/2 for a SNACK today. Like a half hour AFTER she ate 2 1/2 bowls of Life cereal for breakfast.

Berry Cream Muffins (adapted from the Taste of Home Cookbook)

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar (I only used one, and it was ok. I kind of liked the tang of the raspberries against the sweet streusel I throw on top)
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups fresh or frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, whatever)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups sour cream (yogurt or milk work well, you just end up with different textures depending on what you use. I've had good luck with 1/2 raspberry yogurt and 1/2 sour cream.)
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I subbed applesauce this time, and I liked it, but I didn't love it. I might do half and half next time. I miss the fluffiness of the oil ones- the applesauce is nice when you want a gooey/chewy texture, like in an oatmeal raisin cookie... mmmm....)
3/4 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add berries ant toss gently til coated. In another bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, oil and vanilla, mix well. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. (I actually do this the other way around- I like adding the dry to the wet, instead of wet to dry. I think you stir less this way. But that's just me.) Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle with streusel topping (recipe at end) if desired. Bake at 400* for 18-22 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 min in pan before removing to wire rack (I just use a kitchen towel. Good trick for getting these out, since you can't overturn the muffin tin, find a bendy-type plastic spoon- the bowl will flex easily- and use it in place of running a knife around the sides of each muffin. Works wonderfully! And no scratches on my muffin pans.)
Streusel topping:
6 T (1/4 cup plus 2 T) all-purpose flour
6 T quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 T butter

Combine dry. Cut butter into mixture until resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over muffins before baking.