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Elevate your muffins and fruit crisps with this cinnamon sugar kissed crunchy oat streusel topping
Okay, let’s chat about that sweet, crunchy, oat streusel crumb topping. When you reach for a muffin that has it, do you want to have equal amounts of streusel to muffin, less streusel, or more? What about when it comes to fruit crisps?
So for me, it’s situational – if it’s a muffin, I definitely want more muffin than topping but when it comes to a fruit crisp – I want a 50/50 split. Those little nuggets of crispy cinnamon sugar-kissed deliciousness are positively addictive. I can remember as a child we kids would fight over it when Mom would make a fruit crisp. We’d all want the piece with the most crunchy bits on it.
Grab Your Ingredients
These ingredients are pretty much standard in most pantries and kitchens however if you don’t have them on hand, they should be readily available at your local market.
Oats – you only want the old fashioned oats, not instant or quick cooking
Brown Sugar
Flour
Cinnamon
Salt
Toasted Chopped Pecans
Butter
See the substitutions below if you want nut-free, gluten-free, or dairy free.
Make The Streusel
In a large bowl, the oats, sugar, cinnamon, flour, salt, and pecans.
Give it a stir and add in the softened butter
Using the back of a fork or your fingers, work the butter into the mixture.
What you’re looking for is to coat the pieces with the butter and to have clumps form. And that’s it, folks. Really, it’s THAT easy!
Chef’s Tip for Make-ahead Streusel
Once the streusel is at this stage you can put it in an air-tight container and place it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
In a large bowl add all of the streusel ingredients EXCEPT the butter and mix to combine. Add in the very soft butter and with either clean hands or a fork, press the butter into the oat mixture until it forms clumps and coated crumbs.
Use it on your favorite fruit dessert, cookie, quick bread, or muffins.
To bake as pieces, preheat the oven to 325F and line a rimmed baking pan with parchment. Place the streusel in a single layer, and bake until golden brown or about 25 minutes. Let it cool completely in the sheet pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, break it up into small pieces. Store in an air-tight container for up to a week.
Notes
This can be made 1 day in advance. Simply make, place in an air-tight container, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
This made such a fantastic dessert and I even ate some for breakfast to. I love the flavors of cinnamon with the buttery cake, it was the best combination. Can’t wait to make this all fall long!
I’ve got this handy streusel recipe on repeat during late summer. I use it on everything from fruit crisps to muffin tops and even for breakfast on top of yogurt.
This is so easy and delicious.
I am going to make this at home. I love it!
★★★★★
Oh my goodness, I am so with you! I love a nice even fruit/topping mix as well! This is perfect!
★★★★★
Definitely, a great recipe, the addition of pecans is adding a great twist to this dessert.
★★★★★
Loved this recipe. The additions of the pecans really added a nice crunch! We had it with some with vanilla ice cream.
★★★★★
This made such a fantastic dessert and I even ate some for breakfast to. I love the flavors of cinnamon with the buttery cake, it was the best combination. Can’t wait to make this all fall long!
★★★★★
Wow, does this sound and look delicious! My mouth is watering reading through your post! Excited to give this recipe a try!
★★★★★
Love that you can make this streusel ahead of time! So many uses – can’t wait to try it out on some crisp!
★★★★★
Oh this is so easy to make and totally took our muffins to the next level. I can’t wait to try it on sweet breads, too!
★★★★★
I’ve got this handy streusel recipe on repeat during late summer. I use it on everything from fruit crisps to muffin tops and even for breakfast on top of yogurt.
I love easy to make desserts. The more rustic the better. This is always a warm welcome.
★★★★★