Coffee Cake Crumble Muffins

Nom nom nom nom nom…

I NEVER make coffee cake.  I’m not a coffee drinker, so I think the word coffee in Coffee Cake is a subconscious turn off. (Wow.  I just tried to type the word subconscious about fifty times while it kept giving me the dreaded you can’t spell dotted red line.  I eventually had to look it up.)

Anyhoo, why is it called coffee cake after all?  There is no such coffee flavor or ingredient whatsoever!  It should really be called anything BUT coffee cake.  Regardless of what it’s called, these muffins will rock your world.

They’re buttery, comforting, and piled high with a sweet crumbly topping.  These particular muffins are all about the topping.  The cake part of the muffin is simply there to hold the mountain of crumbly goodness.  It has a pound cake like texture that acts as a great base, as you (or I) shove them in my face.  If you haven’t noticed by now, I shove food in my face all. the. time.

Side note.  I’m super lucky in that my 3 year old daughter happily goes to preschool every day.  Key word, happily.  I drop her in her classroom each morning, BEG her for hugs and kisses on my way out and watch as she schmoozes with her favorite peeps.  Her teachers.

Yay for teachers!  As a former first grade teacher myself, I understand almost exactly what goes into these teacher’s days, minus the diaper changes. I understand the planning, patience, and pure joy that comes from teaching children.  I also understand the importance of a student/teacher bond, and while nobody can replace mommy, teachers (in my opinion) are a very close second.

(Don’t tell daddy! What?  I said CLOSE second).

So when one of the teachers requested coffee cake, I couldn’t say no.  Of course I was hesitant because I’m aaaaaaaaaaaaall about the chocolate, and she doesn’t like chocolate!  I’m still getting over that one.  BUT, I love her, my daughter loves her, so she wins.  And so do all of you.  I present to you these buttery Coffee Cake Crumble Muffins.

Excuse me while I slip into my stretchy pants.

Just kidding, I only ever wear stretchy pants.  So excuse me while I continue to wear my stretchy pants and eat more muffins.

Coffee Cake Crumble Muffins

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Crumb Topping

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour

Muffin

• 1 1/4 cup cake flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into pieces, softened but still cool)
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin pan with baking cups or prepare larger baking cups on a sheet pan. *see note
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour in the melted butter and using a wooden spoon, mix until incorporated. Add the cake flour and mix until mixture resembles a thick and cohesive dough. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer on low speed, add the butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and yogurt, and mix until all has been incorporated and batter is light and fluffy.
5. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, divide up batter into prepared muffin pan. Then, sprinkle a generous amount of the crumb topping on top, using your fingers to pinch the dough into a crumbly mixture, if not already. Do not press the crumb topping into the batter. Just let it sit on top.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until crumbs are golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
7. Let muffins cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

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Notes

*If you use regular sized muffin cups you will need to put less batter in each cup in order for the topping to be contained within the cup. I used taller baking cups for these in order to pile on the topping!
*I did stick my muffins under the broiler at about the 15 minute baking mark so the tops would get nice and brown. If you do this, make sure to watch it carefully. You do not have to do the broiler step and can omit it completely.

Adapted from Table For Two