Rhubarb Crumb Muffins

~Jackie~

I am not much of a baker, but nothing can really beat the smell of freshly baked bread or muffins in the morning or afternoon. Especially when you are baking with sweet fruit and cinnamon! Or vegetables in this case (yes, rhubarb is a vegetable and not a fruit). My main reasons for baking are usually to make my house smell wonderful, and to please my husband that likes to eat half of what I bake right after it comes out of the oven. At this moment I am actually smelling the sweet aromas of Amanda’s recent recipe, Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal. It looked so good I decided to use the rest of my rhubarb to make it! The other half of my rhubarb that my dad gave me, fresh from his garden this year, was used to make these delicious rhubarb crumb muffins. The original recipe called for a glaze to go atop the crumble on top of the muffins, but I decided to stop with the crumble to try and make them semi-healthy because it would only be Steve and I eating them. They are made with lots of sugar to offset the tartness of the rhubarb and plenty of almond crumble topping to satisfy your sweet tooth, and pairs nicely with a big glass of milk…or ice cream.

Growing up we always looked forward to the summer months when rhubarb was in season. As a family we would pick it fresh from our big garden and help cut it up to get it ready to put in muffins, breads, crisps, pies, and jams. We would go through a loaf of bread in just a few days and enjoy hot crisp every night with ice cream. After moving out I realized how under utilized rhubarb is and how hard it is to find it in the grocery store. I think a lot of people have been missing out on this delicious ingredient! Although it is a vegetable, it is used like many fruits in baking, jams, and sauces. It stands alone great in dishes, but also pairs well with other fruits like strawberries and peaches. My coworker, from Belarus, said that growing up they would run around and pull it off the stems and just eat it raw. That is a little tart for my liking, but I hear that if you dip it in some sugar it is quite delicious. Make sure to discard the leaves and never cook with them as they are poisonous containing oxalic acid. 

This recipe is pretty easy to make, but requires a few different steps. You have to pre-cook the rhubarb with sugar and butter before adding it to the rest of the mix because it needs longer to cook than the rest of the ingredients. In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the butter, brown sugar, and rhubarb. When it comes to a slow simmer remove from the heat and let cool. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin pan. Once the rhubarb mixture has cooled, whisk in the eggs and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and lime zest. Add the flour mixture to rhubarb mixture, and stir to combine. Lastly, add in lime juice and then divide the batter evenly between muffin cups. To make the topping, stir together melted butter, flour, brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon, and salt with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over batter filled cups, pressing topping into batter. Then bake for about 25 minutes and let cool before enjoying the warm tasty muffin you just prepared. I promise these will be a new favorite of yours and probably a nice change from all those boring blueberry and banana muffins! Enjoy!