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Make this easy streusel topping recipe in under 5 minutes with 5 ingredients! Crumble and bake for an added crunch on top of desserts or use to top your favorite muffins, breads and pies!
This easy streusel topping can be made in one bowl by hand or with a stand mixer! Use it baked as a crunchy topping for ice cream sundaes, puddings like this dark chocolate pudding, or custards like flan. Of course, it is excellent baked on top of muffins, cakes, tarts and pies or mini pies like these mini apple pies!
You can see a cinnamon version featured on this caramel apple tart! It is also crumbled and bake on these peach streusel muffins, banana crumb bread, and a peanut butter version on these peanut butter streusel muffins.
Why This is the Best Streusel Topping
- Soft, not melted butter. This streusel recipe uses soft butter rather than melted butter. The resulting streusel will be lighter, less floury and more tender.
- It is versatile. Bake it on its own to use as a topping for ice cream, puddings, and yogurt, or crumble it on pies, cakes, muffins and quick breads!
- It’s adaptable. In my professional chef life, this is my go-to streusel recipe. I have added spices, oats, peanut butter and more to create a completely different experience.
Professional Tips for Making Streusel
- Use the cut-in method for the most tender streusel. I put all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and just let it go, but you could also mix it by hand.
- Refrigerate prior to baking. Using cold streusel will help it hold its shape in the oven during baking. It is easier to crumble room temperature streusel, so I do that prior to chilling.
- Just keep mixing. It will come together but the colder the butter, the longer it will take. Just be patient and it will work!
Ingredients Needed
- Granulated Sugar: I use mostly granulated sugar in this recipe. It provides sweetness and a bit more aeration.
- Light Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar adds a touch more moisture and notes of molasses.
- All-Purpose Flour: I use plain all-purpose flour for the neutral flavor but you could use different varietals. You might need more or less butter.
- Kosher Salt: The kosher salt enhances the flavor and tempers the sweetness.
- Unsalted Butter: Room temperature unsalted butter will make the mixing easy and produce a more tender streusel.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Possible Variations
- Oat Streusel: Add some rolled oats for texture and a crisp-like topping.
- Spices: Add 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon or pumpkin spice, or try a combination of cinnamon and apple pie spice!
- Almond Streusel: Substitute up to 1 cup of the flour for almond flour.
- Chopped Nuts: I have made this recipe with chopped pecans, walnuts or macadamia nuts. It is also delightful with seeds!
How to Make Streusel Topping
Use these instructions to make the perfect streusel every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Make the Streusel:
Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, combine granulated sugar, sugar, kosher salt, all-purpose flour and cubed butter.
Step 2: Mix on low with the paddle attachment or by hand by squeezing the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until it is combined and one cohesive dough.
It is easier to crumble the streusel right after mixing. If I am not going to use it right away, I crumble it onto a sheet tray lined with parchment, refrigerate and then transfer to another air-tight container.
How to bake streusel alone:
Step 3: Crumble on parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Step 4: Preheat oven to 350°F while the streusel chills. Then bake 8-12 minutes or until it is golden brown and the centers of the larger crumbles look matte. The bake time will vary greatly depending on the size of the crumbles.
How to use streusel on baked goods:
Crumble streusel over the top of unbaked quick breads, muffins, cakes or pies! Bake as directed.
Streusel can add several minutes to the bake time, if the recipe did not originally call for streusel.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
This is going to be controversial, but you can add too much streusel. For example, in muffins like these peach streusel muffins or jumbo blueberry muffins, if you add too much streusel or too large of chunks, it will prevent the muffins from rising properly and they will sink in the center.
How to use streusel?
- As a crunchy topping. This streusel recipe can be baked on a baking sheet for a crunchy topping to add to top ice cream, pudding like this caramel pudding, mousse, donuts, or even no bake blueberry cheesecake bars!
- Baked onto quick bread. It can also be crumbled on top of quick bread batter like pumpkin bread or this banana streusel bread.
- Baked on top of muffins or coffee cake. Crumble on top of muffins like these peach streusel muffins, jumbo blueberry muffins or even as an unexpected topping for lemon poppyseed muffins.
- Give any pie or tart a streusel topping. Leave off the top crust and bake on top of an easy apple pie, blueberry pie or even an easy pumpkin pie! A cinnamon streusel is the star of the show with the caramel apple tart!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store unbaked streusel topping crumbled in a clean, air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 2 months.
Store baked streusel in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. It can be stored longer than that but the flavor will begin to suffer.
In my professional opinion, the difference between crumble and streusel is in the size and textures of the crumbs. A crumble has smaller crumbs and is looser. It always made with melted butter, while a streusel is typically made with room temperature or cold butter and the resulting streusel has larger pieces and is more tender when baked.
This could be because the recipe doesn’t have enough butter or because it was under mixed. Sometimes it is simply because the butter is cold and all you need to do is take a handful and give it a firm squeeze.
This streusel recipe can be baked on a baking sheet for a crunchy topping to add to top ice cream, pudding, mousse, donuts, or even cheesecake bars! It can also be crumbled on top of quick breads, muffins, scones, cakes, tarts or pies before baking for a streusel topped treat!
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Streusel Topping
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 22 tablespoons unsalted butter cool but pliable, 1 cup + 6 tbsp
Instructions
Make the streusel
- Combine sugars, salt, and cubed butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium low until combined.
- Alternately mix by hand: combine all ingredients in a bowl and squeeze in your hands until completely mixed and the mixture clumps together in large clumps. There should be no visible flour.
Bake the streusel alone
- Crumble on parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F while the streusel chills. Then bake 8-12 minutes or until it is golden brown and the centers of the larger crumbles look matte. The bake time will vary greatly depending on the size of the crumbles.
To use streusel on baked goods
- Crumble streusel over the top of unbaked quick breads, muffins, cakes or pies! Bake as directed. Streusel can add several minutes to the bake time, if the recipe did not originally call for streusel.
Video
Notes
Store baked streusel in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. It can be stored longer than that but the flavor will begin to suffer.
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed dessert topping recipes!
