These muffins are so good I made them twice. Once for myself, and again the next day for my friend Heather, who just had a baby girl. For the last seven and a half months of her pregnancy, Heather was sick every single day, and obviously had a really hard time eating anything. This would be my own personal hell. Thankfully, now that the baby is out, she can actually enjoy eating again. I visited her and baby Zephyra on the weekend, and when Heather told me to “bring food!” I was more than happy to oblige with these muffins.

The original recipe from Smitten Kitchen is for rhubarb struesel muffins, and I came across it about a week after I posted the recipe for strawberry rhubarb coffee cake made with whole wheat pastry flour – I had been dreaming of a muffin incarnation, and then this recipe appeared, using whole wheat pastry flour to boot! The first time I made them I used (frozen) rhubarb, and they were delicious: not too sweet, with a delicate, springy texture, a crunchy golden struesel layer on top, and a good tang from the rhubarb. Not to mention the fact that they smelled HEAVENLY while baking. The second time around, I used fresh strawberries and frozen blueberries, because Heather has two older kids and I figured berries might be more kid-friendly than slightly sour rhubarb. I also played around with yogurt instead of sour cream, and switched it up with the flours, using a combination of whole wheat and all purpose in place of whole wheat pastry flour. Both times, they came out perfectly, and I think I may have found my new favorite muffin recipe. I’m fairly confident that you could put any kind of fruit in these – fresh or frozen – and they would be fantastic. Thank you Deb at Smitten Kitchen for this recipe!!

Fruit Muffins with Struesel Topping

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Use any kind of fruit you want in these, fresh or frozen. If using frozen, be sure to add it to the batter straight from the freezer – don’t let it thaw or it will get all liquid-y.

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Generously grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter and set aside.

Make the struesel topping:

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour OR 1/4 cup all purpose + 1/4 cup whole wheat flours

1 tbsp granulated sugar

3 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (I just eyeballed this – more cinnamon is never a bad thing, in my opinion)

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of salt

Mix together the above, then stir in 3 tbsp melted butter with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

Make the muffins:

In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth:

1 egg

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp granulated sugar

5 tbsp melted butter, cooled

3/4 cup sour cream OR plain yogurt

In another bowl, using a whisk, stir together the dry ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour + 1/2 cup all purpose flour OR 3/4 cup all purpose + 3/4 cup whole wheat flours

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Add:

1 cup fruit (fresh or frozen)

1/3 of the struesel topping

Stir gently to combine.

Spoon into the prepared muffin tin and sprinkle each muffin with struesel topping, pressing gently with your fingers to make it stick to the muffins. Bake for 20-25 minutes (closer to 25 minutes if using frozen fruit), until tops are golden and a tester comes out with just a few crumbs sticking to it. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Try not to eat them all in one sitting. Makes 12.