What can I say? I love rhubarb. But that wasn't always how I felt. Rhubarb can take a while to get to know. I suffered through all sorts of dishes my wife made in her valiant attempts to try to get me to like it before I finally came to not only accept it but love it. Because rhubarb is so danged tart, it needs a fair amount of sugar to tame it.
The muffin recipe here is super easy to make. Make sure you dice the rhubarb into smallish pieces—1/4 inch—so that they’ll cook completely during baking. The high temperature helps make muffins dome up dramatically during baking.
I always use red rhubarb stalks because they look so pretty. When buying rhubarb, make sure the stalks feel firm and look glossy. Never use the leaves because they contain oxalic acid and other toxic substances.
Here are step-by-step photos for making these glorious muffins.
Diced rhubarb for the muffins. Keep the dice small, about 1/4-inch.
Grated orange zest for the muffins. A rasper does a great job.
Whisk all liquid ingredients together until smooth.
Dry ingredients ready to be combined.
Folding dry and liquid ingredients together to make the muffin batter.
Muffin batter divided into muffin cups.
Muffin tops sprinkled with dark brown sugar.
Baked rhubarb walnut muffins cooling on wire rack.
Muffin interior showing airy texture, rhubarb bits, and walnuts. Yum! Serve with butter.