I was craving something sweet and my daughter, Anna, 4, was eager to bake together so we headed to the kitchen with stomachs growling. Anna requested chocolate cupcakes, as usual, but I wanted to try to bake something different.
Taking stock of what we had on hand, I realized that we’d have to bake something without butter, and, of course, without eggs considering Anna’s allergy to them. Also, my cake pan broke so we definitely would not be baking a cake. This meant cupcakes or muffins. I was more in the mood for a fruit muffin. The only fruit we had was a Granny Smith apple.
So I scoured the Internet for a good recipe that fit our needs and my sweet tooth. I found this great recipe posted on food.com called “The Best Apple Pie Muffins Ever.” Yes, this one would be perfect.
Anna helped mix the brown sugar, oil and applesauce. Note that the recipe called for one egg so I replaced it with 2 tablespoons of applesauce. Meanwhile, I combined the dry ingredients and made the buttermilk. A quick search online informed me that all I needed to do to make buttermilk was to mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar with one cup of milk, stir and let it sit for 10 minutes or until it curdles. The milk became thick and creamy.
I slowly added the dry ingredients to the wet, alternately with the buttermilk and the batter came out smooth. I folded in the last ingredient, the peeled, diced apple. Note that I skipped adding the crumble topping since I didn’t have butter to make it.
Anna lined the muffin tin and helped pour the batter in. Then we put them into the oven heated to 350 degrees for 25 minutes exactly. They came out perfectly moist and dense and had a great brown sugar and apple taste. We didn’t miss this crumble topping but certainly hope to add it next time. We ate several for dessert that night and several for breakfast and snack the following day. They were gone before dessert time the following day. Needless to say, everyone loved this recipe and it’ll be one I’ll use again. I highly recommend this recipe.
The Best Apple Pie Muffins Ever
Recipe from the cookbook “Just The Best.”
http://www.food.com/recipe/the-best-apple-pie-muffins-ever-110506
Topping1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamonMuffins1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil1 egg (I used 2 tablespoons of applesauce instead)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice with 1 cup of milk and let it sit until it curdles, about 10 minutes.)
2 cups diced peeled firm tart apples (such as Spy, Granny Smith)
1 teaspoon cinnamonDirectionsTopping: In a small bowl toss together sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon until crumbly; set aside.
Muffins: In a large bowl whisk together brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla until smooth.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda and salt.
Stir flour mixture into oil mixture alternately with buttermilk.
Fold in apples, mixing just until combined.
Spoon into greased muffin cups filling 3/4 full.
Sprinkle topping over evenly.Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and tops spring back.
Lisa Mitchell is an editor for Berks-Mont Newspapers. Share your recipe with Berks-Mont. Send to lmitchell@berksmontnews.com and note TMKW recipe in email subject.
