Having been the baker for too many events to count, I have learnt what people are happy to see offered at a breakfast buffet.  If you have 250 people to serve, the buffet will need to have significant variety of loaves, cinnamon buns, muffins, coffee cakes, and scones.  Usually I would do about 5 varieties of muffins, including these rhubarb muffins.  No matter how many were made, they would be the first to run out.  The others were fruity and delicious, or filled with a nutritional punch to start the day, but these were the wanted.

As my file recipe has the amounts for 12 dozen clearly listed on it, I’m reminded just how many of these muffins I’ve made over the years.

Make them year round, as it doesn’t make too much of a difference whether you use fresh or frozen rhubarb, they both work beautifully. 

 Click here for printable version.

Makes 1 Dozen 

Ingredients

Topping:

⅓ c sugar

2 T melted butter

1 t cinnamon

Muffins:

1 c brown sugar

¾ c buttermilk  (or use just shy of ¾ c milk with 1 T lemon juice to sour)

6 T canola oil

1½ t vanilla extract

1 egg

2 c flour

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

½ t salt

1½ c diced rhubarb – about ½” dice – if using frozen, do not thaw before using.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°

Line muffin tins with paper cups.

In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until well combined. Reserve.

Beat brown sugar, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the rhubarb and toss to coat.

Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients.

Mix until just moistened.  There should not be any floury patches left.

Spoon muffin mixture into lined muffin tins.

Top each muffin with a teaspoon of the topping mixture.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 22 – 24 minutes.  Tops should spring back when touched.

Cool on a wire rack.

These muffins freeze well.  Hard freeze in single layers in plastic storage tubs.  After 24 hours, they can be moved hard frozen into plastic bags to store for up to 2 months.  Thaw in a single layer, covered, at room temperature.