Rhubarb Walnut Muffins

I love rhubarb - it is so sweet-tart and delicious and you can chop it up and store it in the freezer to use throughout the year in pies.  These muffins are another perfect use for rhubarb, with a sugary, crunchy top, and bites of walnut and rhubarb throughout.  

Rhubarb Walnut Muffins

Makes 18 muffins

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups diced rhubarb, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper muffin liners.  

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate bowl, beat the brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk with a mixer until smooth.  Pour in the dry ingredients and mix by hand until just blended.  It is okay if a few white streaks remain.  Gently stir in rhubarb and walnuts.  Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, filling almost to the top.  In a small bowl.,  stir together the melted butter, granulated sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon-sugar mixture onto the top of each muffin.  

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed.  Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing.

Raspberry Streusel Muffins

I have a distinct memory as a child of eating raspberry streusel muffins from the Garden Café restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska as a child.  Every bite has sweet, soft streusel and bursts of sweet-tart raspberry flavor inside of a moist vanilla muffin batter.  And they are perfect little beauties to look at too with the snowy white streusel topping.  This recipe could be used with different fruits too, in case you have blackberries or strawberries on hand.  I wouldn't mess around with paper liners in the muffin tin because you don't want to lose any of the deliciousness of the muffin to being stuck on the paper. 

Raspberry Streusel Muffins

Streusel

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
4 tablespoons butter, cold

Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, make the streusel. Stir together all dry ingredients, then cut the butter into small pieces and add to flour mixture. Quickly rub in butter thoroughly by hand until mixture is very fine and sandy. Pick up the streusel mixture and squeeze it in your hand to form small clumps, repeating until streusel appears to have a much coarser texture. Set aside.

Next, make the muffin batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar and egg until well combined. Stir in half the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in remaining flour mixture, mixing just until the dry ingredients are incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.  Gently fold in raspberries (toss frozen berries in 2 teaspoons of flour to keep them from “bleeding” into the muffin batter).

Divide muffin batter evenly into prepared baking cups. Cups will be fairly full. Divide streusel mixture over the muffins (be generous, and don’t worry if some of the streusel doesn’t seem to “stick”).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.  Cool completely then store in an airtight container.

Makes 12 muffins.

Adapted from Baking Bites.