b'Mad for MuffinsGo big! Celebrate spring with a batch of oversized strawberry rhubarb streusel muffins.BY KAREN TEDESCOL ike all iconic foods, the great American muffin has an evolu- But just as cozy loungewear is often the first thing we reach for when tion story that reflects the cultural moment. seeking comfort, muffins are like an uncomplicated friend: easy to be When cupcakes became the It sweet back in the Sexaround in the morning.in the City era, the innocent, always-there-for-you muffinIn the 1700s, the first baked goods to be called muffins were more suddenly became the object of straight-up Mean Girls socialakin to English muffinsflat, yeasted griddle cakes that people could eas-shaming. ily stash in their pockets to eat later.Remember the Muffins are Just Ugly Cupcakes meme? Our modern muffins progressed from those inauspicious beginnings, And so the humble muffin quietly shuffled away from the spotlight likeeventually mutating into a type of lightly sweet quick bread made with a a pair of worn-out sweatpants. chemically leavened (i.e., baking soda and baking powder) batter rather than yeast dough.Because baking powder wasnt patented in the United States until the late nineteenth century, there werent many recipes around for slightly sweeter muffins or quick breads, although little cakes baked in fancy pans were popular for childrens snacks and tea parties.ArecipeformuffinsfirstappearedinFannieFarmersBoston Cooking-School Cook Book in 1925. Compared to todays muffin recipes, Fannies were about half as sweet and minuscule in size.Now, back in the present, muffins are sweeter, biggerliterally over-the-top in size. They spill out of the tin theyre baked in, pro-ducing more of a muffin top than a bottom.Meetyournewbestfriend:big(jumbo!oversized!)muffins, topped with fresh strawberries, rhubarb and a brown-sugar crumble. They might remind you of a good coffee cakenot too sweet, with a crumbly streusel topping and a buttery, tender texture inside. Add-ing buttermilk to the batter gives the muffins a light, tangy crumb.Yes, large muffins are indulgent! But theyre easy to make, and they make everyone happy.These muffins are baked in a jumbo muffin pan (a.k.a. Texas Muffin Pan), making them very shareable.Because the batter and toppings completely fill up the muffin cups, I like to bake these muffins in tulip-shaped parchment linersto ensure they keep their shape better. (Plus they look pretty.)Otherwise, its very easy to make your own bakery-style liners out of parchment paper: Cut six 6-inch squares of paper to fit a jumbo pan (or twelve 5-inch squares to fit a standard muffin pan) and crease them to fit inside each muffin cup.Dont worry if all you have are regular cupcake liners (or even no liners at all); just be sure to oil your muffin pan thoroughly, includ-ing the top. And for heavens sakes, lets not call them cupcakes, okay?Karen Tedesco is a recipe developer, food stylist and photographer living in Maplewood. For seasonal recipes and more, visit her website Family-styleFood.com.30/ matters magazine / spring 2019'