A nip in the air and Fall arrives reminding us of warm baked goods wafting a cinnamon-spice aroma.. such as these Apple Muffins!
“Oh, do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man…” I used to sing that little song to my kids when they were young. Once I even awoke in the night to hear a muffled voice down the hall singing in their sleep!
We made up our own verse to this song: “My mama makes her muffins in a muffin pan, a muffin pan, a muffin pan…” The song put smiles on everyone’s faces, but only because we all knew the delight of hot buttered muffins, fresh from the oven. There’s nothing quite like them.
Our favorite varieties are sweet potato with raisins, cranberry pecan and these apple muffins. My husband had a soft spot in his heart completely reserved for apple fritters, until I started making this recipe for apple muffins…which just goes to show you how resistible these muffins are!
They are moist with apples, rich with the warm flavors of autumn (cinnamon and nutmeg) and are topped with a crumbly, not too sweet topping.
To ease the morning time rush when making muffins for breakfast, you may want to consider mixing the dry ingredients together the night before. Or enjoy these muffins as a snack, perfect with coffee or tea, or alongside a bowl of soup at dinner.
Who knows, these muffins might have you singing in your sleep.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups flour (I use half whole wheat, half white)
½ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
1 egg
¼ cup oil
½ cup milk
1 cup grated apple, about one apple
Topping:
1 ½ Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp cornmeal
Mix muffin dry ingredients together, and set aside. Beat egg, add oil and beat to combine. Stir in apple. Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Scoop batter into greased muffin pans.
For the topping, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, flour and cornmeal. Sprinkle on top of the muffins, pressing slightly into the batter.
Bake at 400 degrees for 14 or 15 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
