Apple Muffins

Makes 12-15 muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick butter, cool room temperature
1 cup buttermilk cool room temperature*
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ - 2 cups coarsely chopped peeled Granny Smith apples
2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar**
1 tablespoon butter

* Milk may be substituted for buttermilk.
** I keep a mixture of cinnamon sugar around that is made of ½ cup sugar + 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

You will also need:

Small bowl
sauté pan
Large bowl
Spatula/spoonula
Muffin pan
Baking liners (optional)

Method:

Sprinkle 2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar with coarsely chopped apples and toss to lightly coat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in small sauté pan over medium high heat. Once the butter is fully melted and bubbling in the middle, add apples and allow them to cook just until they start to sizzle while stirring periodically. This will only take a few minutes (approximately 3 minutes). Once they have cooked down a little (released some of their juice) and look nice and sticky, remove from heat, return to the bowl you used to toss them in the cinnamon sugar and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Work room temperature butter into dry ingredients using fingers until it makes various sized “pebbles”. Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add buttermilk and vanilla. Gently begin folding wet and dry ingredients together and gently fold in apple chunks at the same time. Do not over-mix as the dough should remain rather lumpy. Spoon into 12-15 muffin cups and bake at 425 F for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 5-10 minutes or so before removing to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Peel your apples and use a corer/slicer to make segments. Cut the segments in half lengthwise both from the top and from the side, then slice into small chunks.

Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the diced apple and toss to coat.

Cook the cinnamon sugar coated apple chunks in the melted butter for about 2-3 minutes until you begin to see these sticky webby strands.

While the apples cool, whisk the dry ingredients together, work the butter in with your fingers, make a well in the middle, pour in your wet ingredients and begin to gently fold it all together along with the apples.

I like to use liners for clean up purposes, but also because it seems to keep the muffin a little tighter and gives a prettier top, but that is totally a preference thing.

I also use an ice cream scoop thing to evenly distribute the muffin batter. But again, whatever works for you.