Lawsuit Buttermilk Muffins

Adapted from The Best of BetterBaking.com by Marcy Goldman.

For the streusel topping:

• 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

1. In a bowl, combine all of the streusel topping ingredients.
2. With your fingers, combine until you have a crumbly mixture.
3. Set aside if using immediately or store in the refrigerator.

For the muffins:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1-1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons grated citrus zest (I use lemon or orange.)
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you may need a bit more if the batter is too wet)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-3/4 cups fruit (coarsely chopped if using fruits like apples, banana or pears)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. If you don't have paper liners butter and flour the muffin tin.
2. In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda); set aside.
3. In another bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, citrus zest and egg. Once combined, stir in the buttermilk and vanilla extract.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Gently mix in the fruit. If the batter seems to liquidy, add a tiny bit more flour. The batter should be fairly stiff.
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups filling them right to the top. Divide the streusel topping equally among the muffins.
6. Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 12 minutes. When the muffins are done they will spring back when lightly pressed. Otherwise, test the muffins by inserting a toothpick.
7. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove the muffins and let them cool on a wire rack.
8. Enjoy!

Note: These muffins freeze well so feel free to bake up a huge batch! When mixing the batter, be careful not to overmix.

Brown Butter Blondies
Ingredients Makes about 1 dozen. 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 cups packed light-brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 large eggs 2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (about 4 ounces) 1 cup Chocolate Chips	Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; butter and flour parchment paper. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the butter until it turns golden brown; remove from heat, and let cool. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine browned butter and both sugars; stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Attach bowl to mixer; add eggs. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla, and beat to combine. Add flour mixture, nuts, and chocolate chips. Mix until thoroughly combined, and pour into prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 27 to 35 minutes (do not overbake). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before turning out of pan onto a cutting board. Peel off parchment paper; cut blondies into 3-inch squares. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.