Allspice Crumb Muffins

I have a killer midterm this week so as a way of healthy procrastinating, I decided to bake a batch of muffins to send to the boyfriend. I initially wanted to make these Strawberry Nutella Muffins but I didn’t have an ingredient or two so I put that off to make these. It was a quick, simple recipe that created such wonderfully messy muffins, probably because I packed each muffin with as much crumb topping as possible. Either way, it created such an enjoyable muffin top. I took each bite with caution to get enough of the cake layer to really complement this crumb sweetness with the light, fluffy interior. I hope the boyfriend enjoys these just as much as I have!

Allspice Crumb Muffins (adapted from Annie’s Eats):

Yields 11 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon

For the streusel:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. (If you don’t want to use paper liners, you could coat a muffin pan with cooking spray instead.)

To make the streusel topping, combine the flour, brown sugar and allspice in a small bowl.

Add the cold butter and toss to coat, using your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside in the refrigerator.