There are two crops now available all over NE Wisconsin, and that is asparagus and rhubarb. It seems like we’ve waited so long for our first taste of real spring, and now that it’s here I plan to make the most of it. I’ve been enjoying asparagus most every night this week, just very simply cooked- it’s best that way. But the other day I brought home the first batch of fresh rhubarb from my mom’s patch, and the week of rhubarb has officially begun. Next year at this time my parents will no longer be in their current home, so I need to make the most of this year’s crop. Next year… who knows if I’ll even have access to fresh rhubarb, or asparagus for that matter.
So the first recipe out of the shoot this year is for a simple muffin. I wanted something that really was all about the rhubarb and it’s flavor, and this no-frills muffin seemed like just the way to go. The best part of the muffins were that they came together extremely fast, baked up quickly, and in no time Zander and I were sharing a pair of Rhubarb Muffins for breakfast. He declared them delicious, and I decided that I concur. They did take some getting used to, as the 3/4 cup of brown sugar is enough to give flavor, but these really aren’t sweet muffins. Normally I’m a sweet muffin fan, but a few bites in, and well, let’s just say more than a few have decided to become my breakfast. I tried one with a dollop of strawberry jam, and that was good as well. If I had cream cheese on hand, I think a smear of cream cheese would be the ideal accompaniment- particularly the lighter whipped cream cheese. Overall though, these are a keeper.
If you wanted to play around, I think you could easily swap out half the flour for a whole wheat flour- or maybe even an oat flour. Nuts would be an excellent addition, and if you wanted just a hint of sweet, sprinkle the tops of the muffins with some demerara sugar or cinnamon sugar before baking.
Rhubarb Muffins
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup milk 1/4 cup canola oil 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 375º and spray 18 muffin cups with cooking spray.
In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, eggs, milk, oil, and lemon juice. Mix well until combined. Add the moist ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the rhubarb. Portion out into 18 standard size muffin cups.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in muffin tins on a rack. Remove from the muffin tins to cool completely before serving.
Make 18 standard size muffins.