Coffee Cake Muffins

 As a little girl, Saturday mornings meant helping my dad make breakfast. It was usually either pancakes or French toast, and my "helping" meant accidentally splashing batter out of the mixing bowl or trying to decide whether a pancake was ready to flip or not. Even if breakfast was at 8 a.m. before swim practice, I always looked forward to that fun start to the weekend.
  Now, Saturday mornings often consist of my getting out of bed just in time to grab coffee to have on the subway ride to a voice lesson. This past weekend, I woke up early and whipped up these simple muffins. While they are about as basic as it gets, they're homey and fluffy and delicious. Maybe I'll make them for my roommates in college; but more likely, I'll be calling my dad to ask him for his French toast recipe.
  Enjoy!

Coffee Cake Muffins

(from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 1/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

2 teaspoons cinnamon

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 18 muffin cups, or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, on the low speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the sour cream. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups.

To make the topping: In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, the pecans, and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the topping evenly (and generously) over the batter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.