Pistachio Streusel Muffins
It recently came to my attention that there is such a thing as pistachio muffins. Many of you may have read the previous sentence and said to yourself, “Yeah duh! Is she serious?” Well despite loving pistachios, coming from a family that loves pistachios, loving muffins, attending pastry school, and working in bakeries, I somehow had not come upon them in my 32 years.
If you’ll indulge my ignorance just a bit longer, when I Googled “pistachio muffins,” first to confirm that they are a thing that everyone but me knew about (they are), I then delved further to find out what constitutes a pistachio muffin. Most the pictures showed unnaturally green tinged muffins with no signs of pistachio chunks or an other additions. If I’m being honest, they did not looked very appealing to me, and looked much more like the kind of thing that would be hastily made for St. Patrick’s Day. I’m sorry!! But I did see a few photos that were (somewhat) more naturally green and had pistachio chunks and streusel-like toppings, which looked like something I could get behind.
This recipe was developed with the latter images in mind. I used a similar muffin based recipe (as seen in the blueberry and lemon poppy seed muffins), but swapped out a bit of the flour for pistachio flour (just finely ground pistachios). I also included a hefty amount of pistachio streusel (includes more pistachio flour and chopped pistachios) in the middle and on top. While the final result has only the most subtle hint of green, they are essentially little pistachio coffee cakes that I promise deliver on the pistachio flavor.
Makes: 12 XL or 16 standard muffins (see note)
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients
Muffin Batter
375g (2 3/4 cups) all purpose flour
44g pistachio flour (see note)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
138g (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) sour cream, room temperature
75g (1/4 cup +1 tablespoon) whole milk, room temperature
1 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
183g (1 stick + 5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
236g (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
4 eggs, large, room temperature
Pistachio Streusel
39g (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
51g (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) all purpose flour
30g pistachio flour
78g (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) brown sugar, packed
48g (1/4 cup) pistachios, unsalted, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
powdered sugar, optional
Method
Make the streusel. In a medium bowl combine all streusel ingredients. Using a spatula or your hand, mix everything together until no dry spots remain and the mixture sticks together when squeezed. Set aside.
Make the muffins. Whisk 375g (2 3/4 cups) flour, 44g pistachio flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Whisk 138g (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) sour cream, 56g (1/4 cup) milk, and 1 3/4 teaspoons vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.
Place 183g (1 stick + 5 tablespoons) butter and 236g (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) sugar in bowl of an electric mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment on medium low until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Lower speed and add the 4 eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
On low speed, add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating each addition with one half of the sour cream mixture between each third. (Essentially flour, sour cream, flour, sour cream, flour). Use a large spatula to give a few final mixes, making sure all is fully incorporated.
Rest batter in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. While the batter is resting, preheat the oven to 425F. Line muffin tin with liners (see note).
Once the batter has rested, without stirring, use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, and place 1 scoop in each muffin tin. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of streusel over each scoop.
Place an additional scoop into each muffin tin over the streusel. Distribute the remaining streusel over the top of each muffin. Each space will be filled just about to the top, but not to worry, they won’t overflow while baking.
Bake for 7 minutes at 425F, then without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 350F for an additional 22 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown.
Allow to cool in tin for abut 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.
Once completely cooled, use a fine mesh sieve to lightly dust muffins with powdered sugar.
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Notes
For making muffins at home, I like to use the large tulip style liners. They allow you to bake a larger muffin, which feels a little more substantial like a muffin from a bakery. You can order them on Amazon or Michaels or find them in a specialty culinary shop if you happen to have one near you. You can also just cut squares of parchment to make your own makeshift tulips! If you want to use regular liners for smaller muffins, fill the tins about ¾ of the way full (1 scoop, streusel, smaller scoop, more streusel) and bake for 5 minutes at 425F and then 15-18 minutes at 350F.
While resting the dough isn’t absolutely necessary, it is such an important step in creating that puffed up, rounded top. If you’re in a pinch for time, the muffins will still turn out great without a rest. Otherwise, I would highly recommend not skipping this step. First, it gives the flour and cornmeal time to really hydrate, which leads to better structure and texture once baked. Second, it also gives the acid in the sour cream some additional time to break down the proteins in the flour. That breakdown promotes tenderness. And third, the chemical leaveners (baking powder and baking soda, and yes that’s what they’re called) will start reacting and creating some bubbles and puffiness in the batter, which is why you don’t want to stir it before scooping.
I usually make my own pistachio flour, as it can be very difficult to find and often very expensive when you do manage to find it! As I don’t use it too often, and usually sparingly, I find the easiest and most cost effective way is to buy unsalted and unroasted pistachios and blend them in a Nutribullet, food processor, or blender. Start and stop the blender as you go so you can make sure you get a fine powder without it turning into a paste. You can use a fine mesh sieve to filter out any larger chunks.