Apple Streusel Muffins

As long as I am home and cooking this week, I decided to try a new breakfast treat. I got out my muffin cookbook and looked for a recipe with apples. I didn't make my annual apple pie this year so apple muffins sounded good.

I settled on this recipe because the book described them as "The delicious crumb topping makes these muffins taste like miniature coffee cakes. " Sold! The only problem was that I didn't have any chopped nuts. I used brown sugar instead and it tasted great although I have to admit, nuts probably would have tasted better.

The recipe recommends using Granny smith or Greenings apples. I always use Macintosh apples for baking. And eating. I grew up in upstate New York among apple orchards and cider mills. I was literally raised on Macs. I've also found that one Macintosh apple yields 1 cup of diced apple, making it so much easier to measure for recipes! For some reason, you're supposed to leave the apple unpeeled. I didn't. I always peel my apples when used for baking.

The cookbook was right. These muffins taste more like coffee cake than muffins. I made four large ones because I like a big muffin with my coffee in the morning (see sidebar for resizing muffin recipes). I'm definitely going to be making these often. And I'll be bringing them to next year's Fall Foliage Festival!

Verdict: Yum! This one's a keeper!

Apple Streusel Muffins

(Source: Muffins: Sixty Sweet and Savory Recipes)

Topping

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Batter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 cup diced unpeeled apple, preferably a tart apple such as Granny Smith or Greenings

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin cups or use foil baking cups.

Put streusel topping ingredients into a medium-size bowl. Mix with a fork, then crumble with fingers until mixture looks like chopped walnuts.

To make the muffin batter, thoroughly mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Break eggs into another bowl. Add sour cream and melted butter, and whisk until well blended. Stir in diced apple.

Pour egg mixture over flour mixture and fold in just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Scoop batter into muffin cups. Top each muffin with about 2 teaspoons of the streusel topping.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until browned. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Remove from pans and let cool at least 1 hour before serving.

Recycle: sour cream container

Compost: eggshells, apple core and skins