Glazed Apple Muffins

Glazed Apple Muffins

Fall is apple picking season. I have lots of fond memories of picking apples at the orchard with my dad when I was young. Crisp autumn weather and bright red and green apples. We could hardly wait to pick an apple, polish it on our shirt, and take a big juicy bite.

I ran across the original recipe at Chasing Some Blue Sky and adapted it using Watkins products.

These muffins are moist with lots of cinnamon apple flavor. The glaze adds the perfect topping.

Glazed Apple Muffins

Apple Ingredients:
2 large granny smith apples, peeled and diced small
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons Watkins Cinnamon
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup flour

Muffin Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Watkins Vanilla Extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Watkins Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons Watkins Cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk

Glaze Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon Watkins Vanilla
1 tablespoon hot water

First, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 20 muffin cups with paper muffin liners. (Original directions said recipe made 14 muffins. I made 20 regular-sized muffins following this recipe.

Mix all apple ingredients except flour in a skillet and cook over medium heat until apples are tender, approximately 10 minutes. Stir in flour to coat apples. (This keeps apples from sinking to bottom of muffins).

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.

In a separate large bowl beat together applesauce, oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Then, add vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Stir the dry ingredients (flour mixture) into the applesauce mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and making sure everything is thoroughly combined. Stir in apples until just combined; don't over mix.

Spoon batter into paper liners in muffin tins, nearly filling the liners. Bake until muffin tops are golden brown and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes. (Baking time will vary depending on how full you fill muffin liners. I checked for doneness with a toothpick.)

Cool muffins in pan for a few minutes; then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing.

Make the glaze by mixing the melted butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla and water in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. When muffins have cooled, dip the tops of the muffins into the glaze and allow to cool to room temperature. Dip tops again if you have extra glaze.

Eleisia
http://www.Watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney or http://www.NotJustVanilla.com

My Favorite Blueberry Muffins

I've made several versions of Blueberry Muffins and Blueberry Bread and this is my favorite recipe. The tart taste of the fresh blueberries mixed with the flavor of the sweet cake make every mouthful a luscious delight. If you sprinkle the tops of the muffin batter with coarse sugar before baking, the baked muffins have a bit of a sweet crunch when you bite into them.

Fresh blueberries work best with this recipe as they don't break apart and mix into the batter like frozen berries. I recommend using muffin/cupcake paper liners in muffin tins instead of cooking spray. As the muffins bake, the blueberries burst and will stick to the muffin tins making it difficult to remove the muffins from the pan.

Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins
2 cups fresh ripe blueberries
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon Watkins Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Watkins Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Watkins Lemon Extract
Turbinado or coarse sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Pick through the blueberries, discarding any over-ripe mushy berries or unripe berries and removing stems. Rinse the berries in a colander and drain well. Pat with a paper towel to remove excess water. Set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with a wire whisk.
4. In another mixing bowl whisk eggs, buttermilk, canola oil, vanilla extract, and lemon extract.
5. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients using as few stirs as possible. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Do not overmix.
6. Fold the blueberries gently into the batter using as few strokes as possible.
7. Line a standard size muffin tin (12 muffins) with paper liners. Fill each cup nearly to the top with batter. Use an ice cream scoop to fill each muffin cup.
8. When the liners are filled with batter, sprinkle the top of each muffin lightly with turbinado or coarse sugar. This will add some sparkle and texture to the top of each muffin.
9. Bake muffins for 18-25 minutes, until the muffin tops are golden brown and springy to the touch.
10. Let muffins cool for 15 minutes and then gently remove from the tin. Place on a wire rack and cool to room temperature; then serve.

Tip
This recipe is best made with buttermilk but if you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own by adding 1-1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar or lemon juice to a 1/2 cup glass measuring cup and then add milk to equal 1/2 cup. Stir well and let the milk stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to develop the buttermilk flavor.

Eleisia
www.NotJustVanilla.com