Useful Streusel Food

STREUSEL

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and almonds in a medium mixing bowl.
• Add the butter and use your fingers to lightly knead into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is well incorporated.
• Use to top muffins, quick breads, crisps or ice cream. Store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to a month.

MY FAVORITE STREUSEL RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and softened butter. Use a fork or your fingers to mix until crumbles form and no dry flour remains in the bowl.
• Chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator or 15 to 20 minutes in the freezer.
• When you're ready to use, drop streusel in crumbles over your batter*, gently breaking up pieces if they are too large or squeezing small sandy bits together to form larger pieces. Bake according to batter recipe instructions. If at any time the streusel begins to get too dark in the oven, you can tent it with foil to protect it from burning.

STREUSEL TOPPING RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F/150 degrees C. Place dry ingredients such as all-purpose flour, sugar, and chopped nuts in a medium bowl. Optionally add spices and mix. Add cold butter, cut into cubes, and work with your fingertips until you get coarse crumbs. The texture will look like wet "sand."
• Try to "sand" the dough quickly not to heat the butter. Crumbling the dough with fingers makes the butter crumb less uniform and delicious. Alternatively, you can mix the crumble dough in a food processor or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Or you can work all the ingredients with a rubber spatula, a fork, or a pastry blender. Then use a unique tool - spaetzle maker - or spider skimmer with large holes to grate the streusel dough. Drop the filaments on the baking sheet and spread them out. Or form a dough ball and chill it in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours. Then grate the dough using a grater with large holes. This version gives the dough a thicker consistency.
• Spread the crumbles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the desired color. Let cool. Or sprinkle the crumble topping on top of muffins, cake, tart, pie, etc., and bake as directed in the recipe.

STREUSEL

Steps:

• To make the streusel: Put the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl and mix everything together by running the ingredients through your fingers. Drop in the butter and squeeze and rub the cubes into the mixture until you have a sandy mix. If you press a little streusel together, you'll get lumps, which is just what you want. Drizzle the vanilla over the streusel and toss, squeeze and rub to distribute it. Cover the bowl and chill the streusel until needed. (You can make the streusel up to 1 week ahead; pack it in an airtight container and keep it refrigerated.)

USEFUL STREUSEL

Steps:

• Use a pastry blender, your fingers, or a fork to combine the ingredients until they are crumbly.
• Store in the refrigerator.

STREUSEL FOR CHERRY-STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in butter using a pastry blender, until large, moist clumps form.