Scone-Top Blueberry Muffins

Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 425°F. Line a 12-well muffin tin with tulip-style paper liners for a loftier rise, or if you’re using regular paper liners, spray the top of the muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray in case the muffins mushroom outward.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel S blade, combine the flour, 3/4 cup of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse several times to blend. Add the butter pieces and process until the mixture resembles cornmeal, with no discernible butter pieces.

In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract. Dump the contents of the food processor into the wet ingredients. Use a large, flexible spatula to fold the batter until well blended with no dry pockets. Add the frozen blueberries straight from the freezer. Fold the berries into the batter with just 4 or 5 productive turns of the spatula, to avoid streaking the batter with berry juice.

Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin wells — each should be mounded full with batter. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar into a small cup. Dampen your fingertips with water and work them through the sugar to make it clump slightly, like snow. Top each muffin with a generous pinch of snowy sugar.

Bake the muffins for 10 minutes at 425°F. Without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Continue to bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of each muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for just 2 minutes before transferring them carefully to a wire rack to cool completely (you may need to use a thin offset spatula or knife to loosen the edges of each muffin top from the pan first, if you didn’t use tulip-style liners). Allow the muffins to cool completely before serving.