christmas, entertaining, home decor, recipes

A Christmas Brunch + Eggnog Coffee Cake Muffin Recipe

12:00 AM

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I can't believe Christmas is only two days away! It's definitely my favorite time of year, and I always end up hosting some sort of get-together. This year, I put together a yummy and simple Christmas brunch using products I found at Smart & Final including their First Street brand items!

Breakfast foods and baked goods are one of my favorite things (hello, carbs...), so I knew when I was asked to write a post about celebrating the holidays with Smart & Final that I wanted to bake a yummy breakfast (I'm also a better baker than cook, so there's that...). I've always loved coffee cake, but I don't think I've ever tried making it before, so I searched the internet for a Christmas-y take on a classic coffee cake and landed on an eggnog coffee crumb cake.

Did you know that Smart & Final has their own brand of products? You can find First Street flour, sugar, butter, milk, and more. There was an island of all your holiday baking necessities right by the entrance in my local Smart & Final, so everything was super easy to find!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

For the Streusel:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For the muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup eggnog

1 large egg

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the eggnog glaze:

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons eggnog

Pinch of nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. First make the streusel topping. In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the butter and rub together with your fingers until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, combine eggnog, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Don't over mix.

5. Place 1 tablespoon of muffin batter in each prepared muffin cup. Top with 1 teaspoon of streusel. Add more batter to cover the streusel, about a heaping teaspoon. Top muffins with remaining streusel. Makes about 10 muffins.

6. Bake muffins for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let muffins cool to room temperature.

7. While the muffins are cooking, make the eggnog glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, eggnog, and pinch of nutmeg. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the muffins. Serve and enjoy!

Add a plate of fruit to the table and you have the perfect simple Christmas brunch! I chose strawberries and green grapes to make it extra festive.

Confetti: c/o Prospect Goods

I also put together a little hot chocolate & mimosa bar (because what brunch would be complete without mimosas?!). I picked up some First Street orange juice, along with marshmallows, caramels, and crushed up candy canes to add some extra festive flavor to the hot chocolate.

"Cheers" Balloons: c/o Oh Shiny! Paper Co

Be sure to stop by Smart & Final for any of your last minute holiday baking or cooking needs! Also stay up-to-date with Smart & Final on Facebook & Twitter.

So tell me... What's your favorite thing to bake over the holidays?