Apple Streusel Muffins

Did you guys know that it's September already? The middle of September? That means that summer is practically over, and fall is just around the corner. Man, where does the time go? I feel like I just barely got used to wearing skirts and shorts outside, yet my tan is already fading and I have to start pulling out my jeans and sweaters from the back of the closet. Bummer.

Sad as I am about the end of summer, though, I can freely admit that fall isn't all bad. Fall foliage is pretty nice...my allergies aren't as bad this time of year...and there aren't as many bugs around.  And, lets not forget all the delicious fruits/vegetables that are in season in the fall. Pumpkins, sweet potatoes, cranberries, pears, apples...mmm!

Funny story about apples: when I first came to America, I thought apples were something that students were supposed to give to their teachers every day, because that's what everyone on TV did. My first grade teacher got a lot of apples from me before I figured out that (1) she never actually ate them, and (2) no one else gave her apples. As I got older, I ate apples every day because they were delicious, kept the doctor away, and were great for my girlish figure. It wasn't until a few years ago that I started associating apples with fall -- hot apple cider, warm apple pie, etc. I still eat an apple a day, year round, but -- call me crazy -- I feel like they're extra delicious in the fall. Maybe it's something in the air.

Anyway, when Dan finally finished the last of the blueberry muffins this week, I asked him how he felt about the next batch being chocolate-peanut butter flavored. Shockingly, he was not enthused. Chocolate peanut butter muffins are apparently delicious right before bed, but too heavy for breakfast. What the heck kind of logic is that? There is never a bad time for chocolate and peanut butter. Still, the muffins were for Dan, so I had to give the man what he wanted, which was either more blueberries or some other fruit. 

Given the changing seasons, apples were an obvious choice. They're are almost as tasty in baked goods as chocolate/peanut butter, and definitely a little healthier. But, I couldn't resist making these muffins at least a little bit decadent, so I decided to throw some streusel topping into the mix as well. Delicious! The muffins were light and cinnamon-y, with soft chunks of apples in each bite; and the crunchy sweet topping was the icing on top of the cake (or, you know...the muffin). Best of all, there was enough batter/streusel leftover from Dan's muffins to make a small apple streusel cake just for me!

Apple Streusel Muffins (Adapted from Our Life in the Kitchen's recipe)

Ingredients:

(Muffin)

- 2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced

- 2 cups flour

- 2/3 cup white sugar

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 large eggs

- 3/4 cup milk

- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 2 tsp cinnamon

(Streusel Topping)

- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup butter, melted

- 1/3 cup brown sugar

- Cinnamon for sprinkling

Steps:

(1) Preheat oven to 400. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers.
(2) In a large bowl, mix together wet and dry ingredients for the muffins until well combined.
(3) Gently stir in chopped apple.

(4) Scoop about 1/4 cup batter into each cupcake liner -- the cups should be 2/3 full. Set aside
(5) In a medium bowl, mix together ingredients for streusel topping.
** The original recipe called for 1/4 cup flour to be used for the streusel, but I found that the mixture was way too runny with just that amount. I kept adding more flour a little at a time until the topping became crumbly and was recognizable as streusel. 1/2 cup is my best guess at the total amount used.

(6) Spoon streusel topping on top of the batter in each muffin cup. Use as much as you want -- I sprinkled enough to cover the entire top.

(7) Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top of the streusel.
(8) Bake for 20-25 minutes.
(9) Enjoy warm with a glass of milk.

For other great recipe ideas, click here.

Blueberry Muffins

I woke up this morning with the most intense craving for a gigantic blueberry muffin. You know, one of those sugar-crusted monstrosities from Costco that's packed to bursting with fat blueberries. Those things are so bad for you, but they're so delicious! They're really just dessert masquerading as breakfast. (Which is fine by me -- my parents used to let me eat cake and pie and ice cream for breakfast all the time.)

These days, my metabolism really can't handle actual desserts or an entire Costco muffin for breakfast anymore, but I can certainly put away a whole bunch of these equally yummy, normal-sized muffins. There is less than a cup of sugar in the whole batch, and two cups of fresh, juicy berries go into the batter. I'm pretty sure one of these muffins satisfies at least one daily recommended serving of fruit...maybe.

Blueberry Muffins (Adapted from the Mochi Thoughts recipe)

Ingredients: (Makes exactly 1 dozen muffins)
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1/3 cup vegetable oil

- 1 large egg

- A little over 1/3 cup milk

- 2 cups fresh blueberries

Steps:
(1) Preheat oven to 400, and fill a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
(2) In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients until well combined.
(3) Slowly stir in the oil and egg. Batter should be very thick.
(4) Add milk. If 1/3 cup is not enough to thin out the batter, add more slowly.
** I used between 1/3 and 1/2 cup total. Batter should be a little thicker than pancake batter.
(5) Gently mix in blueberries.
(6) Scoop about 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup.

(7) Gently press 3-4 blueberries onto the top of the batter in each muffin cup. The batter should be thick enough that the blueberries won't sink in.
(8) Bake for 20 minutes.
(9) Best eaten warm, but delicious any time.

For other great food ideas, click here or here.

Banana Nutella-Swirl Muffins

Day fifty trillion of the Snowpocalypse. No work, no school, no where to go but the kitchen.  Which is where I discovered that I had a bunch of bananas ripening far too quickly on top of the fridge. Mmm, mushy bananas.  Time to smash them up and bake something nice!  

This post from Meet Me in the Kitchen caught my eye, so I dragged my roommate through the snow to get some Nutella from Safeway.  Poor Shanna.  Well, she wanted to buy wine anyway.

This is such a clean and easy, no-fuss recipe. Just mix up bananas, eggs, brown sugar, butter, and sour cream (which I swapped out for plain yogurt), scoop the batter into muffin pans, swirl in Nutella, and bake. Done!

I forgot how thick Nutella was -- it was kind of a pain to swirl through the batter, especially when I scooped too much of it into the cups.  In the end it was more like swirling the batter into the Nutella than vice versa. Still, I thought the overall effect was quite nice.

Banana Nutella-Swirl Muffins (Adapted from Barbara's Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 small)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Nutella

Steps:

(1) Preheat oven to 350.

(2) Mix bananas, brown sugar, yogurt, butter and eggs in a large bowl until well-blended.

(3) Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add gradually to banana mixture.

(4) Spoon batter into greased muffin tins.

(5) Add about 1 tsp of Nutella into each cup of batter (or more if you REALLY love Nutella). Swirl to your satisfaction.

(6) Bake for about 18 minutes.