Coffee Cake Muffins on a Shoestring

By awright0511

Gluten-free coffee cake muffins with crumble topping
*You can replace the sour cream in the batter with an equal amount of buttermilk, or even nondairy milk or sour cream substitute. Using something “sour,” like buttermilk or sour cream, will give the muffins more texture and flavor.

I use shortening in the mix-in/topping because I find that it melts more slowly, & is more stable as it bakes. Any other sort of fat would work, though, even grapeseed oil if you wanted to avoid solid fat altogether.

Ingredients

• FOR THE BATTER
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (or nondairy butter substitute)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) sour cream, at room temperature (low-fat is fine, nonfat is not)*
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (I use Better Batter)
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if using Better Batter)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• FOR THE MIX IN/TOPPING
• 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum non-hydrogenated kind)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (I use Better Batter)
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if using Better Batter)
• pinch kosher salt

Details

Servings 12

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable shortening (you can use butter, either, but I find that it burns more easily, since it has moisture that shortening does not have).
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the sour cream, and mix until well combined. Next, add the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the wet ingredients, and beat until the batter is thick. Set aside the batter while we make the mix-in/topping.
To make the mix-in/topping, in a medium-size bowl, beat the shortening and sugar until creamy. Add the flour, xanthan gum and salt to the butter mixture and mix with a fork until coarse crumbs form.
Freeze the crumble mixture until very firm, about 10 minutes (or refrigerate for an hour).
Add half the chilled mix-in to the muffin batter and stir until the mix-in is evenly distributed throughout the batter. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 prepared muffin cups, and smooth the tops of the batter with very wet fingers.
Place the muffin tin in the center of the preheated oven, & bake for 10 minutes. Remove the muffin tin from the oven, and sprinkle the remaining mix-in over the tops of the muffins. Return the tin to the oven, and bake for about another 10 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the middle muffin comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
The batter can easily be made the night before, and then baked in the morning. I wouldn’t wait much longer than that, though, before baking.