Summer, Lemonade, and Raspberries all baked into a muffin.  No joke!  Perfect for a simple family breakfast or a brunch with friends.  Your kitchen will smell heavenly while these creations bake.  The crumbles on top add a nice presentation and taste.  Warning-  your family will request these muffins again!

Raspberry Lemonade Muffins

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 T fresh lemon zest (about 2 lemons worth)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 t vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1-1/2 cups frozen raspberries

For the crumb topping:
1/4 cup flour
2 T butter, melted, slightly cooled
2 T brown sugar
Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with liners and set aside. Combine butter, unsweetened applesauce, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat for 1 minute. Mixture may look lumpy, no biggie.  Add eggs to combine. Add milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla.  Beat to combine.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Slowly begin to add to wet ingredients.  Adding only a little bit at a time.  Mix until just combined before adding the next batch. Gently fold frozen raspberries into batter.

Fill prepared muffin tin cups 3/4 of the way full with batter. In a separate bowl mix crumb topping ingredients together with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of muffins then bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in muffin tin completely.  Makes 12 muffins.