Fall Inspired Muffins...

The smell of sweet spices, pumpkin, and apples wafted through my apartment as the perfect day began with baking muffins for breakfast. 

Streusel and Spice Pumpkin Apple Muffins

A moist muffin with a strong flavor of pumpkin and hint of apple…delicious!

Author: Brenna Bowers

Makes: 18 muffins

 

Muffin Batter and Streusel Topping 

 

Batter is ready, time to fill the muffin cups...

   

 Filled two-thirds full, Generously add the crumble topping

 Before baking...

 After baking!

 The Finished product!!!

 

Streusel and Spice Pumpkin Apple Muffins

A moist muffin with a strong flavor of pumpkin and hint of apple…delicious!

Author: Brenna Bowers

Makes: 18 muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins:
1 1/2  cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 cups of canned pumpkin
½ cup vegetable oil (3 oz)
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup green apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into small pieces (1 large apple)

Streusel Topping:
4 Tbs flour
8 Tbs brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbs unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

Directions:

For the muffins, in a large bowl, combine and sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.  In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined (Tip 1). Fold in apple pieces (Tip 2).

For the streusel topping, in a small bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter pieces in with a fork or your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Fill a muffin tin with muffin cups and then spoon in the batter (about two-thirds full) and sprinkle generously with the streusel topping mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes * or until a toothpick insert comes out clean.

Tip 1: You never want to over-mix muffin batter. If you stir too much, the muffins will not rise properly coming out rather flat and unrisen. Stir just enough to combine the dry and wet ingredients and incorporate all the ingredients and then place the batter into the muffin cups.

Tip 2: “Folding” ingredients means you are using a spatula to just turn the batter so the apples get dispersed in the batter but you are not using a stirring motion. The purpose is to keep the structure of the batter without over beating.

*There is nothing worse than dry muffins so if you are not sure if they are done, if anything pull them from the oven. I say Gooey is always better than dry and crumbly.