This is the second rhubarb recipe in as many weeks. I’m totally okay with that (and I hope you are, too) because the season for rhubarb is fleeting and I just want to bake all the rhubarb things while it lasts!
These muffins are a great, easy, non-pie, way to get some rhubarb into your bod (<< why? I’m sorry). Not that there’s anything wrong with pie (I love pie), it’s just that sometimes we don’t wanna make a crust and chill it and fill it and bake it and wait ever-so-patiently (not) for it to cool before we dig in. These muffins take about 15 minutes of prep and then another 25-ish minutes in the oven. The result is basically tiny cakes masquerading as breakfast fare with tangy cream cheese middles and bits of tart rhubarb suspended in a tender, brown butter laced batter. Sure, we have to let them cool a leeetle bit before we devour them, but just about 10 minutes. Much faster than pie, yet equally delicious.
- for the muffin batter:
- ½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, browned
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup diced rhubarb
- for the cream cheese filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- coarse sugar for the topping
- Brown the butter by cooking it in a saucepan over medium-low until it becomes foamy, stir it occasionally until the solids in the butter turn deep, golden brown and smell fragrant like toffee. Remove from the heat to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin well.
- Make the cream cheese filling by beating the cream cheese in a mixing bowl until smooth. Beat in the sugar, vanilla, and egg until combined. Spoon the filling into a piping bag or zip-top bag and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl whisk the milk, egg, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk in the cooled browned butter.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, until just combined. Fold in the diced rhubarb. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full. Cut the tip or corner off of the bag with the cream cheese filling and pipe a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each muffin. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse sugar (and a few slices of rhubarb, if you want). Bake the muffins on the center rack of the preheated oven for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin batter comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool 10 minutes in the pan before turning the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Rhubarb comes in and out of season so quickly! You have to use it while you have it! Plus, brown butter anything is basically awesome!
So true! thanks Roxana!
BREAKFAST GOALS. Also thank you for a non-pie recipe. I love pie but I’m totally terrible at making beautiful ones. I can totally handle a muffin recipe though 😉
HA! I feel you. Thanks, Erica!
These look so incredibly delicious!! Wow! 🙂
Thanks, Tieghan!!
Omg, YUM! I love seeing rhubarb in more ways than simply in a classic pie. This is definitely a muffin I need to meet!
Yes! thank you!
These are at once gorgeous and totally scrumptious looking! Love the combo of rhubarb and cream cheese.
Thanks, Mackenzie!
This is one beauty of a muffin girl!! I love that there is a cream cheese centre in there!
Thank you! It’s the best part 😉
SLAYYYYY. Gurl, you kill me (bod). But seriously, these muffins. I kinda feel like pie flavored muffins are where it’s at. Thanks, kween.
Ha! Thank youuuu!!