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Apple Muffins

I got into quite a baking frenzy the other day. I’m not much of a morning person, so I like to have quick and easy breakfast items. I make a big batch of whatever breakfast item Henry has been asking for and then they are ready to go for the mornings. This week, though, I made 3 recipes. I had some apples I needed to use up so I made Apple Muffins. Henry has been begging me for waffles, so I made a batch of blueberry waffles to freeze. And I’ve been dying to try a bagel recipe that James found for me. And since I was already spending my entire afternoon in the kitchen, and Henry decided to take a 4 hour nap, I went ahead and bit the bullet. And was it worth it? You will have to wait until I get to that post to find out!

First up, we have the apple muffins. I’m a bit of a creature of habit, so I really only ever eat blueberry muffins. But these were a pleasant surprise. The apples keep the muffins very moist and the strudel topping gives the muffins an extra bit of sweetness. Apples can lose a little of their sweetness in the cooking, so it was a nice balance. These are great for a balanced breakfast (with yogurt and a piece of fruit) or served with ice cream for dessert.

Apple Muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups chopped apples

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
4. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
5. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.