From Ellen Jackson

I've been making these muffins for many years, tweaking the recipe as I go. I think the original calls for raspberries, but any sort of berry works wonderfully, as do apples, pears, stone fruit, and rhubarb. I love that these are mostly fruit, held together with a bit of batter. But best of all is how quickly they come together if you do some of the steps in advance.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups diced rhubarb or other fruit
1 tsp lemon zest
8 oz (2 sticks) butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Topping
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup lightly toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 oz butter, melted

Mix the flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Set it aside until you're ready to bake the muffins. Make the muffin topping by combining everything but the butter in a small bowl. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork. Your topping should have lots of pebble-sized lumps. Cover and refrigerate. Dice the rhubarb in 1/2-inch pieces, cover, and refrigerate. You can add the lemon zest to the rhubarb now, or wait until morning.

When you wake up, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool slightly.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the eggs, butter, and milk. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined. Fold in the rhubarb and lemon zest. Divide the batter between 12 muffin cups with paper liners and sprinkle evenly with the topping. Bake until nicely browned and firm, about 30-35 minutes.