Here in the Upper Midwest, Rhubarb season has arrived. For those not familiar, rhubarb is a plant that looks the weed, Burdock. The leaves are poisonous and though the stems are edible, they are very tart. The stems can range from deep red to green and the plant can be as small as a hosta or large enough for children to hide behind the leaves. Some hardy souls like to eat the stems strait off the plant like a celery stalk. Commonly, rhubarb is used in pies, crisps, and jams- basically anything that you would use a berry in that also has a lot of added sugar to balance out the natural tartness of the plant.
Usually we are very fortunate to have an abundance of rhubarb, but this year we split and transplanted our plants, so they have not been harvestable. Thanks to some good friends, this year we were able to harvest some from their patch and I spent the weekend making things.
As I went through our boxes and books of recipes, I kept coming back to the Rhubarb Muffins. The recipe was stuffed in an envelope of recipes from Nick’s mother, Linda S. It was in a plastic sandwich bag, yellowed, bent, and had some stains on it, which showed how good it was. I figured a recipe does not get into that condition if it is never made. I am not sure the history of this recipe and Nick does not remember it from his childhood, so this was one we went into blind. It turns out these are fantastic. They are moist and the hint of tart from the rhubarb was superb.
The recipe called for making a hole in the top of the muffin before cooking and putting the topping there. That seemed like it would be a disaster, so I instead sprinkled it on top (like the notes on the recipe suggest). I would caution you to not put it too close to the edge of the batter as the sugar will easily burn before the muffin is finished baking. If you are making this gluten free, it would be best to use paper liners or aggressively grease the muffin tins as the muffins are very light and they will easily fall apart. I substituted Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free Baking flour, added xanthan gum as a binder, and increased the baking powder by a 1/4 teaspoon. Most any 1:1 gluten free flour should work in the recipe, but double check to make sure you don’t need to add a binder like xanthan or guar gum. The recipe calls for baking at 400 degrees for 20-25 min. I would suggest decreasing to 350-376 for 20-25 min or 15-18 min at 400.
Rhubarb Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp melted butter
Directions
- Step 1 Mix together 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and melted butter for topping. Set aside.
- Step 2 In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Step 3 In another bowl, combine oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.
- Step 4 Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix until just moistened.
- Step 5 Gently stir in rhubarb and nuts.
- Step 6 Fill greased (or paper cups) 3/4 full.
- Step 7 Poke hole in center of each muffin and spoon a dab of filling into the hole in each muffin.
- Step 8 Bake at 400 for 20-25 min
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