Remember my recent post on the apple cinnamon pound cake? Well this recipe is a spin off to that cake. These are fluffy buttery muffins with a much lighter batter that are perfect for Sunday breakfast. The batter in this recipe is my go-to muffin base. It never fails to deliver a fluffy airy consistency. I add blueberries, almonds, cranberries, chocolate chips, anything you can think of. Store this in your recipe file because it is easy and amazing.
So it's Sunday. My favorite day of the week. It is a beautiful crisp fall morning so I decided to make muffins. And what better way to have my husband wake up then to a house filled with the aroma of cinnamon, brown sugar and nutmeg? Seriously it will consume your entire house. It's incredible. To make these muffins, I added diced apples, cinnamon and nutmeg. Then I made a streusel topping of brown sugar and cinnamon with bits of butter. And to finish it off, like the pound cake, this recipe has a cinnamon topping of its own as well. Brown sugar butter. Simply sweet butter and brown sugar combined and spread onto the fresh out of the oven hot muffins. What you get when you take that first bite is a warm cinnamon infused silky cake with the most decadent crunch top caressed by a luxuriously cozy butter. I swear. It's that intoxicating.
These are the ingredients to the basic muffin recipe
And this is my personal addition. Like I said, you can add anything you like.
Hmm... the smell of rich dark vanilla....
Baking on Sunday morning is like taking a walk in the clouds with angels!
Ya, I know, I even add a little stylista into my baking!
I recommend you really fill the muffin cups up to the top if you want a tall crisp topping. I'm not a fan of flat top muffins. I like me a big fat muffin top!
Sprinkle on the goodness and try and make sure that there is at least 1 or 2 cubs of butter on top of every muffin to ensure a gorgeous golden color and perfect crunch.
Take a whiff. Can't you just smell it?
A lot of recipes I have seen for brown sugar butter call for first melting the sugar and then whipping it into the butter. But I like the crunch that the raw sugar adds to the sweet butter.
A soft fluffy inside contrasted by a sweet crisp outside is my idea of perfection. Opposites totally attract.
Now if you're NOT like me, you will share these with your loved ones.... I prefer to keep them all to myself. Sorry, go make your own batch. :)
Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Muffins with Cinnamon Butter
Makes 12 Muffins
Batter:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
3 tsp. baking baking powder
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 cup milk
2 apples, peeled, cored and diced small
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Streusel:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter diced
Brown Sugar Butter:
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Pre-heat oven to 375.
To make the batter:
Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg, egg yolks and vanilla and beat to combine. Alternating between the milk and flour mixture, gradually add each to the batter. After the batter is well mixed, add the apples and turn on the mixer to medium just to evenly incorporate the apples, a few seconds. You don't want to beat it longer or the paddle will break the apples. Generously spoon tablespoon scoops of the batter into a muffin pan with greased muffin cups.
To make the streusel:
Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and butter and mix lightly, careful not to break the butter. Top the muffins with the streusel, making sure that there is at least 1 or 2 cubes of butter on top of each muffin. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle muffin comes out clean. Let cool.
To make the brown sugar butter:
Using a fork, mash the butter and sugar together. Spread onto slightly cooled muffins and enjoy.
these look amazing!
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