Butter Rum Muffins with hot Cocoa Streusel

The temperature drop made me do it.

These are decadent as all get out but the freezing cold this past week had me dreaming of hot cocoa and hot buttered rum.

A little out of season perhaps? Who cares and who says there are seasonal restrictions on hot beverages flavors that warm you up from the inside?

I took two classics and married them together for this dense sugary muffin that’s packed with flavor. It may not be health food but paired with my morning coffee on a snowy weekend was sheer bliss.

For the streusel, I used instant hot cocoa packets with mini marshmallows. A little trashy perhaps, so sue me.

The recipe below does not produce a large crumb streusel but it melts perfectly into the muffin and adds a nice jolt of crusty sugar to the warmth of buttery rum.

For the Buttered Rum Muffins:
(Loosely adapted from Half Hour Meals’ Butter Rum Muffins)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons rum extract
• 1 tablespoon butter flavor
• 2 cups of AP flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Grease or spray a muffin tin.
• Mix together milk and extracts and set aside.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and allspice and set aside
• Cream butter and sugar together
• Add eggs one at at time until combined.
• Alternate adding flour and milk mixtures until just combined.
• Spoon the batter a little over halfway into muffin forms. The batter will be very thick.
• Cover with hot cocoa streusel and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of each muffin comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes in the muffin tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Hot Cocoa Streusel:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup hot cocoa mix
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar

Directions:

• Place all ingredients in a bowl and mash up with a fork or your hands.You won’t have much crumb in this streusel. It will be stickier than usual.