A New Favorite Muffin: Apple Pie Streusel

Apple Pie Muffin

I want to be in Yummy Chunklet’s carpool.

Author of one of my favorite blogs, she recently featured an “Apple Pie Muffin” that she had been “seeing around”.  Since I am flush with apples (after buying a giant box of seconds which I cored, sliced and froze for baking), these were a muffin I had to try.

When I first made them, I thought they were amazing.  That week, my mother and stepfather kept stopping by for different reasons and finally confessed they were after my muffins!

The original recipe made 12 regular and 12 minis, so in my second round I played with the ingredient slightly; the new version makes 24 regular muffins, uses half whole wheat flour, and has even more nutritious apples, for a muffin that is still light and sweet, but now even healthier!

Third batch in a few weeks.  I just keep saying I’m in training for the holidays!  Here is my version:

APPLE PIE MUFFINS

Muffins:

• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups packed brown sugar

• 1½ c all-purpose flour
• 1½ c whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (I omitted this, not being a nutmeg fan)
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• 1½ teaspoon baking soda

• 3 cups chopped apples (1 med apple = 3/4 c chopped, so about 4-5 apples, depending on size)

Topping:

• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 24 cup muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, butter, vanilla, and brown sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.  Use a food processor to chop the apples.

Chopped Aples

3.  Mix flour, baking soda and spices until well combined.  Add to the liquid mix and stir until just combined. Gently fold in apples.  The mixture will be fluffy rather than “battery.”

Muffin Batter

4.  Use a scoop or tablespoon to fill each muffin cup, filling almost to the top; do not worry if the “fluffiness” keep the batter from filling out the cup–the muffins expand during baking.

Filled Muffin Cups

5. To make the topping, stir together brown sugar, flour, rolled oats, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix in the melted butter (I used my fingers) until well blended. Sprinkle over the tops of the muffins.

Muffin Topping

Top with Streusel

6. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed. Do not overbake.

Muffins!

Tip 1:  Don’t peel the apples.  Unpeeled apples are healthier, there is less waste, and you can barely tell in this recipe (I know because my princess-and-the-pea daughter can spot an apple peel a mile away)

Tip 2: If you become a regular user of buttermilk, it is easy to make your own.  Commerical buttermilk is a cultured product, like yogurt, but even simpler to make.  I add about 1/4 cup of store bought buttermilk to a few cups of milk, then let it sit overnight (in the winter, I put it in the microwave with the light on, since our house gets cold at night).  When it has thickened to the consistency of …  umm…  buttermilk, it is ready to go back to the refrigerator and become part of your next recipe.  (The substitutions you see for buttermilk, usually milk plus lemon juice, will work for proper rising, but will not add the same flavor as buttermilk)