Springtime & rhubarb go hand-in-hand, don’t you think? And rhubarb has always seemed at home in muffins to me! Try out this recipe today & enjoy them as a side to your morning coffee, or as an on-the-go snack. If you choose to add the cinnamon sugar topping, these muffins would also make a great dessert!
The whole wheat flour, oats, and rhubarb will give you a nice hit of fiber. Pair with a glass of milk and a handful of almonds & you’ll have yourself a deliciously healthy treat. These guys would be even more tasty slathered with some of our Thames River Melons strawberry jam! Check out the recipe below:
*Makes 2 dozen muffins
Dry Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup large flake oats
½ - ¾ cup sugar (depending how sweet you’d like them to be!)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Wet Ingredients:
1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice (aka homemade buttermilk!)
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed well
Add-in:
2 cups rhubarb, diced & tossed in ¼ cup sugar
Topping (optional):
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
2. Lightly grease a muffin tin, or fill with muffin liners & then set aside.
3. Combine the milk & lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup and allow to sit together for at least 5 minutes. This is your DIY buttermilk!
4. While waiting, thoroughly whisk together all of the dry ingredients (flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, spices) in a large mixing bowl, then set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (your homemade buttermilk should be ready now, plus the egg, canola oil, vanilla extract, & mashed bananas).
6. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and slowly pour in the wet ingredients, mixing gently until they are just combined. Don’t over mix, or the muffins could be tough & chewy!
7. Next, gently fold in the chopped rhubarb.
8. Your batter is ready to go now! Use a spring-loaded ice cream scoop and drop muffin batter into the prepared muffin tins.
9. If you are interested in adding the optional topping (it gives the muffins an extra bump of sweetness!), whisk together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon and then cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly on top of the muffin batter.
10. Once finished, bake the muffins in your pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes.
11. To check for doneness, take a peek at your muffins. Gently shake the muffin tin – are they still jiggly in the middle? If they are, return them to the oven and continue to check them every 2 – 3 minutes. Once they are not jiggly and when they spring back from your touch they are done & ready to be removed!
12. Allow muffins to rest in the pan for a few minutes. Once they are cool enough to touch, transfer them to a cooling rack. All that’s left to do now is enjoy! That and the clean-up J
Recipe created by Alex Chesney, RD