Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Due to popular demand...such morning deliciousness that you'll forget about everything else! (is it really popular demand if it's just one person nagging...and nagging and nagging and nagging...okay slight exaggeration, but only slight, mind you)

CINNAMON STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, lightly spray a 9" square or round pan, then get two bowls and one liquid measuring cup:

One bowl for the streusel topping*:

2 Tbsp packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp flour

1 tspn cinnamon 

1 Tbsp butter or margarine

 *The topping is my favorite so I usually double the recipe above...yup, I'm a rebel like that.

Use a pastry blender to 'cut' the butter into the mixture.  There will be some loose powder and some pea-sized pieces of butter mixed around--this is normal and okay.  Set this mixture aside.

What?  You don't know what a pastry blender is?  Alana can help you out.  Yes, she's laughing at you.

What?  You don't have one of those?  Okay, you can use a fork instead.  But don't be surprised if Santa pops one of those into your stocking Christmas morning. 

In the liquid measuring cup:

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup oil (any kind of oil--vegetable, canola, olive....geez, stop stressing, all right?)

1 egg

Use a fork and beat that stuff up.  Set it aside.

You remembered to preheat your oven and grease your pan, right?

In bowl number two:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (all purpose is just the regular stuff, sometimes I do half regular and half wheat flour...but only if I'm feeling healthy)

3/4 cup sugar

2 tspn baking powder (NOT baking soda!)

1/4 tspn salt

Use a rubber scraper or wooden spoon to mix that up (sometimes I finely chop up some apple and/or walnuts and throw that in there too...but totally up to you).

Dump the liquids into bowl number two (yup, I just said number two) and JUST BARELY MIX IT TOGETHER.  Seriously, just mix it until the dry ingredients are incorporated-- DO. NOT. OVERMIX.  Why you ask (I know you are asking because ALL of you ALWAYS ask)?  If you over mix it, then the leavening agent will get too activated and your finished product will look more like a mountain than a flat plain--no bueno when we're talking cake!

Dump this mixture into your greased pan (you greased one, right?) and spread it around so that it's roughly filling the pan, don't overspread or worry about perfection here.  Then sprinkle the streusel from bowl #1 (you didn't confuse bowl 1 and bowl 2 did you?) on top--make sure to get this evenly distributed and don't forget your corners and edges.  Those little clumps of butter like to clump together so make sure it is spread out too.

Then pop that into your oven (you preheated it, right?) and bake it for 30 minutes.  I always test the center when the timer goes off but have never had to bake it longer so you're pretty safe if you don't test it.

Enjoy!

PS This goes really well with some eggs and bacon!