Coffee-Cake Muffins with Pecan Streusel

Name: Coffee-Cake Muffins with Pecan Streusel
Yield: Makes 10
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 cup pecan halves (1 1/8 ounces); 3 tablespoons light- or dark-brown sugar; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; Pinch of salt; 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons cold unsalted butter; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; A few gratings of whole nutmeg; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 3/4 cup milk; 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus more for tin

Recipe photo courtesy of John Kernick

These muffins make a deliciously sweet addition to your brunch buffet.

Source: Martha Stewart Living, April 2004

Makes 10

Yield

Ingredients

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350Â°. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside. Butter 10 cups of a standard nonstick muffin tin; set aside.
2. Make streusel: Spread out pecans on a baking sheet. Toast in oven, shaking occasionally, until crisp and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
3. Raise oven temperature to 375Â°. Put brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and flour in a medium bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until well combined. Crumble pecans into small pieces; work into streusel with fingertips until just combined. Cover, and refrigerate.
4. Combine dry ingredients: Sift flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, and spices into a large bowl; set aside.
5. Combine wet ingredients: Whisk together eggs, vanilla, and milk in a separate large bowl. Whisk in melted butter.
6. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients; fold with a rubber spatula until combined. Spoon batter into buttered cups, filling each less than one-third full. Gently press batter into an even layer.
7. Divide reserved streusel among cups, then top with remaining batter. Sprinkle with reserved cinnamon sugar. Fill any empty cups in the tin halfway with water. Bake muffins until puffed and golden brown, about 18 minutes.
8. Let cool slightly in tin, 5 to 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack; let cool a few minutes more before serving warm.

Cook's Notes

You can bake the muffins up to a week ahead of time. Let them cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in resealable plastic bags. Warm thawed muffins, wrapped in foil, in a 300 degree oven, eight to ten minutes. Alternatively, make the streusel and mix the wet ingredients up to two days in advance; refrigerate. The mixed dry ingredients and cinnamon sugar can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature.