Cinnamon Apple Muffins

GET TO KNOW YOUR APPLES

Pink Lady, great balance of sweet and tart.
Granny Smith, maybe the most popular baking apple. A little more tart than most apples.
Braeburn, magically moist yet still bakes well.
Jonagold, a combination of Jonathans (another good baking choice) and Golden Delicious. Plenty firm with a nice sweet-tart taste.
Honeycrisp, sweeter than most baking apples yet still holds up to baking.
Fuji, a bit on the firmer end of the spectrum. Great for baked goods that bake a long time.
Gala, a little sweeter than most of the others. Bonus points for being widely available.
Cortland, softer than most baking apples but bakes well.
Of course, we all have our own flavor preferences, so it’s entirely possible that you’ll have a different preference among baking apples. These are all great choices for baking. 

Enjoy a fresh warm from the oven Apple Cinnamon Muffin made with fresh apples and a crumble topping. 

Cook's Notes: Do not over mix batter and check at 16 minutes for doneness. Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Granny Smith or another crisp apple work well for these muffins.
Recipe adapted from the girlwhoateeverything and makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients:
For the crumble topping:

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter melted
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour +2 tablespoons flour
• 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the muffins:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon ground Saigon cinnamon or 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice mix 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup buttermilk 
• 1- 1/2 cups peeled and chopped apples-(I used one large Honeycrisp and 1 medium sized Granny Smith) 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 12 count muffin tin or line with paper liners; set aside.

To make the topping:

• In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Stir in flour, oats and nuts using a rubber spatula until mixture is crumbly. Place in freezer for about 25 minutes to harden as mixture is a little sticky for crumbling over top of muffin. There will be a little extra topping left over.  

To make the muffins:

• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• In another large bowl, whisk together sugars and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking each then whisk in the applesauce and vanilla until well combined. Whisk flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix until just combined, then gently fold in the apple chunks. Do not overmix.
• Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling almost to the top. Crumble the cold topping and sprinkle on top of each muffin.
• Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire racks. Enjoy!