Raisin Bran Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel

original post:http://greedygirlcooks.blogspot.com/2014/05/raisin-bran-muffins-with-cinnamon.html

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 ½ cup wheat bran

1 ½ cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup raisins

1/3 cup maraschino cherry liquid

1 cup buttermilk

1 table spoon molasses

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Streusel topping

½ cup flour

¼ cup brown sugar

½ stick unsalted cold butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
• Place liners in you muffin/cupcake tray and set aside
• In a mixer beat the sugar and oil for about 3 minutes
• Combine the raisins and maraschino cherry liquid and heat in the microwave for 1 minute so the raisins absorb the liquid, set it aside to cool
• Add the egg to the sugar and oil mix and allow this to beat at high speed for another 3-5 minutes
• Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda together in a dish and mix
• In another dish combine the milk, vanilla, molasses and cooled raisin mixture (including the liquid), make sure the molasses is dissolved (should look like creamy coffee)
• On medium speed, add the wheat bran to the egg/oil/sugar mixture until it’s combined
• Then, on a lower speed add flour and milk/raisin mixture alternating ending with flour (see GTip)
• Using an ice-cream scoop fill the muffin/cupcake tin

For the streusel

• Cut ½ stick of cold butter into small cubes (see GTip)
• In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon, pulse until the grains resemble breadcrumbs.
• Sprinkle the streusel on each cupcake batter generously.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Greedy tips:

• Pay attention to the streusel it takes just a few seconds to form. If you pulse it for too longs the butter will start to melt and it will clump up into a dough ball. Remember you want it to be powdery and fine like breadcrumbs, larger clumps are ok. You can also make this in a bowl with a fork.
• The butter does not have to be frozen, but cutting them in cubes and freezing for 15 minutes, would aid in preventing premature melting, especially if you live in a hot area.
• Remember once you have added the wheat bran, flour and milk, you want to keep mixing to a minimum, you only mix until the ingredients have blended well together and then stop. If you over-mix your muffin will be dense and heavy because you would have removed too much air and built up too much gluten in the flour.
• Make the streusel last, I made mine after the batter was in the muffin cups, so they went strait on top and then into the hot oven