Apple Pie Inspired Muffins

I find breakfast to be the hardest meal of the day to figure out. It can be tough to switch things up enough that the kids don’t get board, without just filling a bowl with sugary cereal (though I do that quite frequently as a snack before breakfast, so don’t think I’m preaching here). Muffins, I’ve decided, are going to become a go-to for me. Both kids love them, they last for a couple of days so I usually get two days of breakfast out of them without any complaints, and they’re really not that hard to make.

Now, I’ve just got to figure out enough variations of muffins that they don’t get bored of them too. Banana has always been my go-to, but last weekend Oliver kept pretending to be making apple cake for us to eat, and saying how yummy his pretend apple cake was. So, I took that and I ran with it, hunting around online for inspiration and switching it up a bit.

The result was some pretty fabulous apple pie inspired muffins that the kids can’t get enough of. Seems my Oliver might have a bit of a knack for cooking too, maybe I should give him his own section

First up, line your muffin tins.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Dice up your apples. Remember that these will be chunks in the muffins, so dice them up fairly small.

You need two cups of diced apples (this was about 4 small apples, I used Gala).

Put the buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla, brown sugar and egg in a second bowl.

Whisk it all together.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and add the chopped apple.

Stir it all together until just combined, and no dry flour is left. Just use a wooden spoon, there’s no need for a mixer for these muffins.

Use a spoon to dollop into the muffin tins. Fill them right up to the top (I’m a firm believer that a muffin should always be overflowing).

Now, make the topping. Put the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter into a small bowl.

Mix it together with a fork until well combined. It’ll hold together a bit when pinched together.

Generously top each muffin. Now just pop them in the oven about 20 minutes.

Voila!

I mean, how could anyone resist these muffins. The apple flavor really shines through in the muffin, and the sweetness in the topping adds the perfect amount of crunch. Love them!

Here’s your printable:

Apple Pie Inspired Muffins

Yield: 15 standard muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Print

Ingredients

Batter

• 2 ¼ cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1½ cups brown sugar
• 2 cups diced apples (fairly small dice)

Topping

• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375ºF and line 15 muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla, brown sugar, and egg until well combined.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and add the diced apple. Stir to combine with a wooden spoon until no dry flour is left.
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin liners, filling to the top.
6. In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the topping: brown sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, and flour. Generously top each of the muffins with the topping.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.