The Best Damn Crumble Top Muffins!

The classic love hate relationship with the muffin top. It goes back to the old saying, "A minute on the lips, forever on the hips..." nothing is more fitting for this saying than the muffin top. So delicious, but once you eat the muffin top it's right to your... well... muffin top. However, muffins are the best breakfast treat. I remember as a kid I would put a mammoth pad of butter on top of my muffin and I would devour the top of the muffin leaving all the crumbs covering the kitchen table. I wouldn't even eat the rest of the muffin. The key to the perfect muffin is that yummy crumble top! 

As you can tell from the picture below, this is a much loved recipe that's been used over and over. I got it off Pinterest a long time ago and it certainly is the best damn muffin recipe.

Let me make that recipe slightly more legible:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup veg. oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fruit/filling of choice (you can go for the classic blueberry or chocolate chips, but I've even used blackberries and raspberries - basically whatever yummy I can get my hands on)

Topping Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter (Room Temperature!)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven 400 degrees F and grease muffin cups
• Combine 1 1/2 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder. 
• Place veg. oil into a 1 cup measuring cup and add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this into your Flour mixture
• Fold in blueberries (or whatever you picked to make these things fucking awesome)
• Fill muffin cups right to the top.
• Whip together all those toppings and beat them like a red headed step child and then cover your muffins with that sugary deliciousness like you are praying to get diabetes.
• Bake 20-25 minutes

Now an important part of my blog: There are ALWAYS things that can make recipes better and there is also almost ALWAYS something important left out of the recipe when you find it on Pinterest. So here's what I learned that is essential in making this better than Suzy homemaker's boring recipe:

First, Add some damn vanilla. I mean come on! Vanilla makes everything better. Throw a dash of it in your muffin mix and it adds that extra silky yummy flavor.

Second, and most important!! Your butter needs to be room temperature. If it's not your topping will not get the signature crumbles and you completely failed at life. Don't worry though if you are craving muffins and you don't have an entire stick of butter out at room temperature you can microwave it to soften it up. The muffin will taste just as yummy, but it will have more of a caramelized top and won't look as pretty, but that's alright.

My journey making this beast: 

So I had been pondering making a blog about a girl who tries to make all the various things on pinterest and shows the real outcome of things, because we all have those horror stories of failed pinterest attempts and then we all have the epic best thing ever. I finally decided one night I'm going to do it and start with the muffins I love. Well turns out my wonderful boyfriend used like the last of everything in the house. I had no egg, no milk, and like hardly enough butter. That's okay. I am the queen of substitution. I learned my mad baking skills in rural Michigan. I couldn't just run to the store if I forgot something. I had to make due. (For more on this see my page of the great jumbo page o substitutions)

Starting off so far so good, first substitution: Egg whites and a little flaxseed meal for the egg. (If you don't have egg whites you can even combine 1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons water) Throw in some applesauce and a little extra egg white for the lack of milk. Am I even making the same damn recipe anymore? At this point I start to get a smidge frightened that this will even still turn out resembling a muffin at all with all the substitutions, but I've gone this far I can't stop now.

I force my boyfriend to try the batter as punishment for using the last of everything I needed to cook with. He approves and so I fold in the blueberries. Oh man look at this deliciousness. Shhh don't tell anyone, but I did have to use frozen blueberries. 

Next I load up those suckers in a greased pan. (Yes, I actually greased it this time. I am notorious for forgetting this crucial step.)

The yield for this recipe varies a little every time I make it, but it is usually about six muffins. Next I throw together the topping ingredients which I actually have all of, aside from being a tablespoon short of butter, but hey I'll take it.

Mix it all up till you get a good crumble mixture and then put on top of those muffins. Looking good. Another little addition I like to add is a sprinkle of granulated sugar on top to give it a little more crunch. 

Next step, and always the hardest in baking, throw it in the oven and wait 20-25 minutes. These bad boys will make your house smell soooo good.

So I got a little over zealous with the toping and it kinda spilled over making the lovely black mess on the bottom of my stove, but hey it is pretty much mandatory for me to make a giant fucking mess anytime I cook, so we're good. Cause these babies look freaking yummy! I will admit it is not the most photogenic muffin, but it is sooooo good and it tastes way better than it looks! 

May I present to you the finished Best Damn Crumble Top Muffin!!!