Applie Pie Muffins

The past few weeks, I have been following a bit of a processed sugar/flour detox - so needless to say, that has cut out my weekly baking. However, I really wanted to bake something special for the women who work in my school's cafeteria, so I thought these Apple Pie Muffins would be perfect. I originally found this recipe on Pinterest a couple years ago and baked them once in the States (or at least I thought I had.) This recipe seemed very different from the muffins I remembered!

The biggest difference was the topping, which basically had the consistency of wet sand (rather than a crumbly texture I remember last time (the way the topping looked in the website's photos!) I was so worried that after mixing the topping, I had to return to my computer just to check that I had correctly copied the recipe (I though maybe it should have been white sugar rather than flour - but it definitely called for flour...) Fortunately, the batter proved to be no problem - or at least no more problem than the trouble of peeling and dicing two apples!

When I baked the muffins, I found the batter did not rise all that much - I definitely recommend filling the tins at least ¾ of the way full. Sadly, the topping did not behave as I remembered with my previous Apple Pie Muffins; this time, the topping basically melted and gave the muffins a darker sugar coating (rather than a crumbly top. Since I was not able to actually taste the muffins (since I'm still observing the no sugar/flour diet), I'm forced to rely on Korean taste buds for this review. My co-workers definitely enjoyed these muffins - though they thought the topping was entirely too sweet (I'm guessing that a Westerner wouldn't have had issue with this.) The cake seemed very moist, and definitely smelled wonderful!

Apple Pie Muffins
yields 18-24 muffins

Topping:
½ c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
1 t. cinnamon
2 T. butter, melted

Batter:
2¼ c. flour
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk (or 1 c. milk plus 1 t. vinegar)
½ c. butter, melted
1 t. vanilla
1½ c. brown sugar
2 c. diced apples (about 2 large apples)

Mix topping ingredients until crumb-like and then set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, butter, and vanilla. Stir in the brown sugar. Without mixing add the flour, baking soda, salt, and apples. Gently fold the mixture until the ingredients are just combined. Be careful not to overmix! Pour into a paper lined muffin tin and bake 375°F (190°C) for 20 minutes. Remove from oven when muffins are firm to the touch.