Rhubarb Walnut Muffins

With rhubarb season waning and giving way to a bounty of strawberries, I offer up one last recipe to celebrate rhubarb. I don't like my muffins terribly sweet (it's a muffin, not a cupcake), so if you're looking for a dessert masquerading as breakfast, these aren't the muffins for you. But if you are looking for a healthy, flavorful muffin, these are right up your alley. These simple, charming muffins are just sweet enough to provide a beautiful contrast to the tart rhubarb and rich and crunchy walnuts. The whole wheat pastry flour gives the muffins a tender, delicate crumb that cradles the soft rhubarb and crunchy topping. Whip up a batch of these muffins today to give rhubarb season a proper send-off! And if you want to keep it around just a bit longer, freeze some extra for a taste of early summer anytime.

Rhubarb Walnut Muffins
adapted from Food Network; original recipe provided by The Blacksmith Inn, Bailey's Harbor, WI 
makes 10 muffins 

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cups brown sugar 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1 cup chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven 325 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with liners, grease with butter, or spray with cooking spray.

2. Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients, mixing only until moist. Gently fold in rhubarb and walnuts. Divide batter between 10 muffin tins (about 1/4 cup batter per muffin). Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over muffins. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for a couple minutes in the tin, then serve warm, removing the remaining to a cooling rack to cool completely.