Funfetti Eggnog Muffins

Is it too early for eggnog? Uh… it’s in my fridge… and my muffins! If I jumped the gun, forgive me? When you taste these you’ll surely know why I couldn’t wait even a millisecond longer to post them.

“I’m in love! I’m in love! (and I don’t care who knows it!)”

Eggnog and I have an interesting relationship. The smell sends me swooning, the taste is pretty fantastic too, but the consistency? I can’t. I’m not a milk drinker by nature, so the thought of drinking anything that creamy sends me running. (usually towards a beer) So what’s a gal to do with a carton of nog? “PUT A BIRD ON IT!”

Just kidding: BAKE WITH IT! Usually I reserve it for pancakes (hello delicious!) but this time around I wanted muffins. Fluffy, Fall-spiced, melt-in-your-mouth muffins with a buttery crumb topping you’ll dream about for weeks to come… Yes, those. The second I decided that I wanted/needed/had to have them there was no talking me down.

I originally had no intention of running the funfetti train through these muffins, but even a veggie fiend such as myself can’t quite resist the lure of sprinkles. When I reached for the baking powder the nonpareils practically jumped out of the cupboard shouting “IT’S PARTY TIME!” It was. It was time to party.

Join me?

Funfetti Eggnog Muffins

• ½ cup plus 2 TBSP eggnog (I used this booze-free brand)
• ½ cup old fashioned oats
• ¾ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp allspice
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 TBSP softened butter (1/4 stick)
• 1 large egg
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp of nonpareil sprinkles (optional)
• for the delicious crumb topping:
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• a drop of vanilla extract
• 3 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Fill a muffin tin with paper liners.
3. Spritz liners lightly with your favorite cooking oil spray (for easy liner removal)
4. Give your oats a quick whirl in a food processor to grind into a powder. It will be coarser than the flour but blend more beautifully into the muffins this way.
5. Combine freshly ground oats with eggnog and sit aside.
6. Next combine flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
7. Prepare your streusel crumb topping by combining all topping ingredients and stirring with a fork until crumbly.
8. In a medium bowl, use a stand or hand mixer to cream together softened butter and sugar until smooth.
9. Next mix in the egg on low speed for approx 2-3 minutes until your batter lightens in color.
10. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.
11. Sift about ⅓ the flour mixture into the bowl and stir with a fork, then add ½ the eggnog/oat mixture, followed by another ⅓ of the flour mixture, the rest of the eggnog mixture, and finally the last of the flour.
12. Pour evenly into your lined muffin cups and top with a hearty crumble of streusel.
13. Bake approx 18 minutes (times vary a smidge from oven to oven) until golden brown.
14. Check to see if a toothpick comes out clean from the center and pop them out of the muffin tin to cool on a wire cooling rack.
15. Enjoy!

substitution shenanigans: Any variety of nog should work and, as I mentioned earlier, I grabbed a dairy-free non-alcoholic variety and it was nothing short of awesome. In a pinch you can grab a carton of milk or buttermilk and I don’t doubt for a second the recipe would be anything but stellar, so don’t let that deter you from these sassy little muffins. Though if you can get your hands on some nog, for heaven’s sake please do! It’s only fitting that we both get muffin drunk together.

So how about you? Are you pro-nog? I am as long as I can eat it!

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