Coffee Cake Muffins

I have always been intrigued by the names given to foods. Where do these names come from? Why are they not always literal? For example, most of our modern day coffee cakes do not contain coffee, as the name would imply. The name seems to come from the fact that this type of cake is a perfect accompaniment to coffee. In Scandinavian countries in the 17^th century, friends would come to call and receive a piece of sweet cake and coffee. The Scandinavian immigrants brought this tradition to America where we still enjoy this pairing. Coffee cakes may be topped or filled with a variety of ingredients, from fruit to cheese. My favorite type of coffee cake has a streusel topping containing brown sugar and cinnamon. This recipe combines the streusel coffee cake with an easy to eat muffin. It looks wonderful when baked, but is very simple to make. Enjoy them with your favorite cup of coffee.

Batter Ingredients:

1½ cups flour

½ cup sugar

2 t baking powder

½ t salt

¼ cup shortening

1 egg

½ cup milk

Spice Filling Ingredients:

½ cup brown sugar

2 T flour

2 t cinnamon

2 T butter, melted

½ cup nuts, finely chopped (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375º. Grease a muffin pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. The batter will be lumpy.

For the spice filling, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter with a fork until crumbly. Add nuts, if desired.

To assemble the muffins, place approximately one tablespoon of batter in the bottom of each muffin cup and spread to cover the bottom of the cup. Add 1½ tablespoons of spice filling on top of the batter. Place another tablespoon of batter on top of the spice filling, spreading to cover most of the filling.

Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.