Streusel

If you’re anything like me, you love texture on desserts. The graham cracker crust underneath a cheesecake, hunks of cookie dough pieces in ice cream and, of course, streusel on fruity desserts. In my opinion, fruit pies and muffins, coffee cakes and even banana breads are incomplete without a mountain of crumbly streusel topping. If you agree, then you must learn how to make a streusel topping that can be used on any of your homemade desserts. Luckily, this streusel topping recipe is easy to whip up, so let’s just dive in!

What is streusel?

Streusel is essentially a crumb topping, commonly sprinkled over the tops of muffins, coffee cakes, bars and pies. This crumbly topper is made with flour, butter and sugar. It gives baked goods a little extra texture and sweetness.

And before you ask—streusel and strudel are totally different. Streusel is a topping, while strudel is a type of German pastry.

Streusel Ingredients

TASTE OF HOME

• All-purpose flour: This type of flour creates the best structure for chunky, crumbly bits of streusel topping.
• Sugar and brown sugar: We use a mixture of brown sugar and granulated sugar in our streusel topping recipe. Brown sugar adds moisture and molasses notes while granulated sugar promotes crisping and browning.
• Cinnamon: Did you know there are multiple types of cinnamon? If you’re an avid baker, treat yourself to a new type and see what the flavor profile can do for your baked goods.
• Butter: Buy one of the best butter brands from the store. When recipes have so few ingredients (like this streusel), the quality of each ingredient matters.

Directions

Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients

In a small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon if desired, and salt.

Step 2: Add the butter

Pour in the melted butter.

Step 3: Mix until crumbly

TASTE OF HOME

Mix the streusel just until the butter is combined. The streusel should be nice and crumbly. Do not overmix.

TASTE OF HOME

Recipe Variations

• Sprinkle in spices: Baking spices are an easy way to add flavor to your streusel. Cinnamon is already in this recipe, so other fall spices will pair perfectly. Try nutmeg, cardamom and a small pinch of ginger.
• Make it gluten-free: Replace the all-purpose flour with one of the best gluten-free flour blends that is a cup-for-cup measurement so you can use the same flour measurement in this recipe. Double-check that all the other packaged ingredients are certified gluten-free too.
• Use brown butter: Take your streusel to the next level by learning how to make brown butter. Browned butter adds a deeply toasted and nutty note to instantly upgrade the flavor of whatever it’s used in.

How to Store Streusel

You can leave baked streusel out at room temperature for up to four days or store it in the fridge for up to seven days. Choose room temperature or the fridge based on the storing instructions of the dessert it’s baked on. Cover the streusel and its dessert very well with storage wrap or store in an airtight container.

Can streusel be made ahead of time?

Yes, streusel can certainly be made ahead of time! Store unbaked streusel in an airtight container in the fridge for up to seven days or in the freezer for up to one month.

Streusel Tips

TASTE OF HOME

How much streusel does this recipe make?

This streusel topping recipe makes 2-1/2 cups of streusel. That’s enough for about two dozen muffins, one 9-inch pie, one 9×9 or 8×8-inch coffee cake, or two 9×5 or 8×4-inch quick breads. We love this streusel topping on a double batch of our best-ever blueberry muffins, our favorite banana bread recipe and these autumnal-spiced pumpkin cream cheese muffins.

What does streusel mean?

The term streusel comes from the German word streuen, which means “to scatter or sprinkle.” Streusel is a very common addition to Austrian and German desserts like kuchen and crumb cake.