If you are like me, when I think of fall I think of cinnamon, apples and pumpkins. These cinnamon apple pie muffins are sure to get you into festive the autumn mood!
The type of apples matter in a recipe like this. I used Honey Crisps and Granny Smiths. These are not the only type of apple you can use. Things like Ida Reds, Jonathan, Braeburn, Northern Spy, Pink Lady, Cortland all work wonderfully. You need an apple that will hold its texture, some apples will just become apple sauce and not hold their cell structure. You also want a slight tart profile, in at least one of the apples you choose. It will later help to balance the sweet, think of something like a Fuji it is much too sweet to use for baking. Quality of apple matters too if it’s mealy when you peel it isn’t going to get better, just worse. Avoid at any costs using Golden Delicious or Red Delicious quality matters. I encourage using a mixture of apples.
For best results make the apple filling part the night before or a few hours ahead of time in order to help it cool down.
Yields 12 large muffins.
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Description
A light and flaky muffin that is packed with ripe apples, cinnamon and brown sugar.
Ingredients
Muffin base
Apple Filling
Instructions
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Make the apple filling
Wash, peel and slice the apples. Quarter and clean out center then cut quarters in half and slice thin layer of apple in cross sections
Place into pan with all of the filling ingredients over low heat. Stir the apples pretty often at first, you don’t want any of the sugar to burn on to the bottom of the pan. Slowly the apples will release a little of their juice and it will help the cooking process, but go slow so you don’t burn any on to the pan.
Let the mixture simmer and thicken, cook until the apples are tender.
Refrigerate until cool or over night, you minimum want this mixture to come to room
Ensure the mixture is thick and not watery. If the mix is watery keep simmering or add a touch more flour. -
Mix the muffins
Whisk the eggs and sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Add milk, vanilla and mix until well incorporated. Add butter and mix. Gently fold in the dry ingredients. Add apple filling and mix just to distribute the apples.
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Scoop into muffin pan
Add muffin liners to a muffin pan and evenly distribute. The mix should come over the top.
Top with additional brown sugar and cinnamon.
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Bake the muffins
Bake for 5 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven. Reduce heat to 375 and cook for another 12-15 minutes. They are done when you can touch the top and they spring back. If they sink in, cook for another minutes.
