This is the last week of the Build a Frugal Pantry series over at Good Cheap Eats. It has been such a great exercise in examining what can make a pantry explode with possibilities, even on a small budget. If you haven’t already, pop over and check out all the great guest posts and new recipes as well as a wealth of info about the 12 ingredient groups that will make your pantry one you’d be happy to eat out of.
That said, our last and final “ingredient group” is Nuts and Seeds. While these have gotten a bad rap in years past, they are coming back into fashion as we understand the healthy fats they contain as well as a host of other good stuff.
One recipe that I love to use nuts in is Streusel Topping.
According to my well-worn copy of the Food Lover’s Companion, streusel is “A crumbly topping consisting of flour, sugar, butter, and various spices that is sprinkled on coffeecakes, breads, muffins, and cakes. The word streusel is German for “sprinkle” or “strew.”
In my family, we (meaning my mom and I) have always added nuts to our streusel. We love it on Raspberry Muffins, and it is the topping that makes Nanna’s Apple Pie and Slab Apple Pie so great. Really, you can add this basic streusel to any bread, cake, or muffin recipe that you already love. Try it on Mix and Match Muffins or on Chocolate-Chip Banana Bread. Yummy!
Streusel Topping is super easy to make. And if you have nut haters (like we do) in your family, you can easily disguise them. Obviously, if there are food allergies in your midst, you don’t want to put nuts in this. But, if they just don’t like them, they’ll never know.
Having a food processor makes this recipe come together in a snap, but you could always use a pastry blender or two table knives to cut in the butter and then stir in finely chopped nuts.
My Mom’s Basic Nutty Streusel Topping
1/2 cup flour
2 Tablespoons butter, cubed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, pecans, or almonds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon almond extractPlace all ingredients in the bowl of food processor. Pulse until coarse crumbs are formed. Sprinkle over unbaked pies, muffins, cakes, coffeecakes, or muffins. Bake according to recipe directions.
What’s your favorite way to use nuts or seeds?
Share it with us today at Ultimate Recipe Swap. Leave the link below or share your recipe in the comments section.
Next week on URS: Anything Goes! Bring your current favorite.
Encouraged by what you’ve read? Subscribe to LifeasMOM by email or in a reader and join me on the Road to Joyful Motherhood.
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s been a while since I’ve made it, but this week’s LAM’s post about using nuts made me drag it back out. It’s extremely nutritious and super easy to make. Check it out!
Kelly
[Reply]
I have been wanting muffins lately. Your streusel looks really good! Nothing beats a great muffin with streusel!
Thanks so much for hosting another yummy URS!
~Liz
[Reply]
Your muffins look great! I love streusel topping! I just posted with my not so healthy Amish Almond Joy bread that was fantastic, thanks!
[Reply]
The nutty streusel topping looks great for some homemade muffins for weekend guests. Thanks!
[Reply]
oh my gosh… I accidentally put the wrong recipe on there! I am so sorry. Feel free to remove it
[Reply]
Can’t wait to try your recipe and I have my eye on quite a few from the links, thanks for this!
My very favorite is “Kinder Bueno”
it’s among the 5 recipes with nuts I bake.
[Reply]
Oh, yum! I love streusel topped cakes and or muffins. YUM! The only thing is my kids aren’t too keen on nuts.
[Reply]
Jessica Fisher Reply:
June 3rd, 2010 at 7:16 am
Chop the nuts small and they’ll never know amid all that sugar and butter.
[Reply]
I love pecans. I would so make your streusel with pecans. My favorite way to use nuts is definitely in a great homemade chocolate chip cookie. I love the crunch they add.
[Reply]
Jessica Fisher Reply:
June 3rd, 2010 at 7:15 am
Pecans are my fave, too. But, they are also the most expensive in my neck of the woods. An occasional splurge.
[Reply]
Nuts and Seeds is a great idea for the URS. I’m often looking for new ways to incorporate these into our diets. Thank you
[Reply]
That looks so good!!
[Reply]
Nuts or not, I think streusel topping always looks good!
[Reply]
I use walnuts in Cranberry Banana Bread and pecans in
Sausage Cake.
[Reply]
Below is one of my few recipes containing nuts…I think that the other two that I use I came across on this blog, so I won’t post those!:)
My hubby doesn’t like to have crunchy nuts “defile”:) foods like brownies, cakes, etc. However, a friend emailed a recipe to me for banana chocolate chip nut cookies, and I tried it anyway. It was a hit! Even with my nut-disliking hubby! Enjoy! (I put in a cup of choc chips and a cup of chopped pecans, even though the recipe says to do one or the other.)
Banana Chocolate Chip Nut Cookies
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 ½ large bananas)
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 2 cups of flour
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground mace or nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1 cup of pecans (walnuts and chocolate chips are fine alternatives)
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
2 In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which in turn will give the cookies their lift and rise.
3 Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt, and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture and mix until just combined.
4 Fold into the batter the pecans or chocolate chips if using. Drop in dollops onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.
Makes about 30 cookies.
[Reply]
I’m a peanut butter lover, so when I found roasted peanuts at a great price at Kroger, guess what I made? (See umber 41 on the links list)
[Reply]