Coffeecake Muffins

ingredients

For the streusel:
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the muffins:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and softened
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional glaze:
1 cup icing (confectioners) sugar
2 Tbsp. water

method

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside. (You could use paper muffin liners, but if you're planning to use the optional glaze drizzle, it would be better to just bake them straight in the tin, so you can enjoy the lovely drizzle down the side of the muffin goodness).

In the bowl of a food processor fixed with the metal blade, process the nuts, brown sugar and cinnamon until the nuts are very small (about the size of sesame seeds). Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and set aside.

Return the bowl and metal blade to the food processor, add the flour, granulated sugar and salt and process until combined. Sprinkle the butter evenly over the flour mixture and process until the butter is the size of oats. Remove 1/2 cup of the flour-butter mixture and stir it with a fork into the reserved brown sugar mixture until combined to make the streusel. Set aside 3/4 cup of the streusel for the muffin batter and the remaining portion for topping the muffins.

Add the baking powder and baking soda to the remaining flour mixture in the food processor and process until combined. Whisk together the sour cream, egg and vanilla in a 1-cup glass measuring cup and add to the flour mixture. Process until the batter is just moistened (do not overmix). Add the remaining 3/4 cup of the streusel to the flour mixture and process until the streusel is just distributed through the batter and the batter looks crumbly.

Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle a scant tablespoon of streusel on top of each muffin, pressing lightly so that the streusel sinks slightly into the batter. Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out with several crumbs clinging to it, about 18 minutes. Avoid overbaking. Place the muffin tin of a cooling rack and allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 2 minutes. Using the tip of a paring knife, loosen muffins and gently transfer from the pan to the cooling rack. Cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Optional Glaze: Place a sheet of parchment paper beneath the wire rack as muffins cool. Whisk 1 cup confectioners (icing) sugar and 2 Tbsp. water in a medium bowl until smooth. Spoon about 2 tsp. of the glaze over each muffin, letting the glaze run down the sides of the muffins. Serve warm.

Source: Baking Illustrated