Apple Rhubarb Crumble Top Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Preparation time: 30 minutes 

I took one bite of one of these muffins fresh out of the oven and decided then and there to throw any humility out the window in describing them: these muffins are spectacular. I really mean this. Moist in the middle and crumbly, crunchy and rich on top. My boyfriend has a 'Kate's cooking ranking system'. He's very generous in his rating and usually puts most of my dishes way above the rank I think they deserve, resulting in me rolling my eyes at him. The top rank in this system however he reserves for the absolute best ever recipes I make, the VIPs of all recipes, these he calls the 'Kate's future café-worthy recipes'. This is one of them, and for the first time ever I completely agreed, there was no eye-rolling, just munching. 

Ingredients

For the Muffins

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
 1/2 tsp xanthum gum

1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 T cinnamon

1 cup & 1 T brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda
1 T lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

½ cup canola oil
1 t vanilla extract

3/4 cup sliced and de-stringed rhubarb

3/4 cup peeled and sliced apple

1 cup dairy-free milk + tsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Ready for the oven

For the Crumble Topping

1/4 cup of flour
2 T of oats

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 T vegan margarine

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

Lightly grease a muffin tin or line it with paper liners. In a small bowl mix together the dairy-free milk and vinegar and set aside for about 5 minutes.

Place the sliced rhubarb and apple with the 1 T of brown sugar and the 1 T lemon juice in a small pot over low heat for about 6 minutes. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and make a well in the center. Add the oil and vanilla extract to the milk and vinegar, mix. Pour into the well with the dry ingredients. Mix together until the batter is just moistened. Fold in the apple, rhubarb and pecans.

In a small bowl mix together the crumble topping ingredients with your fingers.

Scoop out about 1/3rd cup of batter in each muffin cup. Spread out the crumble topping on top. Bake for about 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.