Chocolate Chip Muffins with Streusel Topping

Breakfast is so boring.  I have friends and family who think breakfast is the bees knees, but I'd rather have two dinners, or maybe a dessert meal than breakfast.  There's just so little variation to breakfast, and because I would rather hit the snooze button an extra two times than take the time to make something elaborate, more often than not my breakfast consists of something I can stick in the toaster and eat in five minutes.  Sometimes on the weekends I get ambitious and try to brighten up the rest of my week by prepping something homemade that will spice up my mornings before work.  Muffins fit this bill.

For all intents and purposes, muffins are basically breakfast cupcakes.  You really can't ever go wrong with cupcakes (especially if they involve chocolate).  The basic "Muffins" recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook is an excellent blank canvas for all sorts of breakfast creativity.  Chocolate chips + streusel topping?  Now that's nutrition!



Fixins:

Muffins

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 beaten egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• (totally my own addition) 1/2 of a 12-oz bag of chocolate chips

Streusel Topping

• 3 Tbs all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbs butter
• 2 Tbs chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Put paper liners in one average-sized muffin tin.  With muffins you don't need paper liners, but I am notorious for not properly greasing the muffin tin, so I always use them as a cheap muffin insurance policy.  Combine your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a medium bowl and set them aside.  Next, whisk together the egg, milk and cooking oil until combined, then make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture all at once.  Beat together until just combined.  If using, then fold in chocolate chips.  Scoop batter into your prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about 2/3 of the way.

For the streusel topping, stir together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon, then cut in the butter until the topping looks like large crumbs.  Then stir in the nuts.  Sprinkle the topping on each of the muffin cups.  I recommend baking for about 15 minutes, and then checking every couple of minutes after that until they look golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins comes out clean.  Cool the muffin tin on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, then remove the individual muffins and leave them sitting on the wire rack to cool completely.  This recipe should make about 12 regular-sized muffins.

The Result:

The resulting muffin is moist with punches of sweetness and a nice crunchy crust on top.  The walnuts are naturally buttery and are a welcome textural contrast to the creamy, sweet chocolate and the light bread of the muffin.  These muffins are deliciously simple and yet they have great visual appeal.

Repeat:

Absolutely.  This muffin recipe is easy to customize - you can add fruit, nuts, or any number of other ingredients to make this just the right treat for your morning.  Sub in half whole wheat flour and add some fresh berries or chopped fruit for a healthier muffin.  If you don't like nuts, just leave off the streusel topping.  There's no end to the possibilities!  Also, it's highly likely that you have the components for a batch of muffins sitting in your cupboard/fridge.  Anytime I don't have to change out of my pajamas is a good time in my book. 

What is your favorite breakfast muffin?  You can find my favorite here!