These tender apple cinnamon muffins are packed with chunks of fresh apples, contain a gooey apple butter center, and are topped with a generous amount of crunchy, buttery brown sugar streusel.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ ofbatteranddough.com

"These were SO good! The apple butter tucked inside each muffin and that streusel topping are the BEST! Will def make these again!" - Kelly

I am on an apple butter kick. After making several batches of slow cooker apple butter, I'm wanting to add it to everything.

When I started working on this recipe, apple butter was not a part of the plan. But, somewhere along the way, I thought a dollop of apple butter in the center was a delicious idea.

And, it's true. Having apple butter in the center of these muffins rocks. But, I'd be amiss if I told you it was necessary. These babies are already packed with a ton of fresh apple chunks and the spice of cinnamon and nutmeg. Then, they're topped with hunks of buttery brown sugar streusel.

The apple butter center is a delicious way to gild the lily, but not at all necessary for a comforting batch of cinnamon apple muffins.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ ofbatteranddough.com

What kind of apples are best for apple muffins?

For the most part, you can use any kind of apple you like in these muffins with success. But there are a few varieties that hold up to baking than others. Here are my favorites:

1. Honeycrisp Apples. This is my favorite variety to use in these muffins because they are super crisp, hold up exceptionally well when baked, and add a lovely tartness to every bite.
2. Braeburn Apples. Braeburn apples are my second favorite choice for these muffins because like Honycrisp apples, they hold up well to baking and have an intense enough flavor to stand out.
3. Jonagold Apples. Often apples that are on the sweet side don't hold up well in baking. Not the case with Jonagold apples, which are as sweet as honey but still hold up well in the oven.
4. Pink Lady Apples. Pink Lady apples are a nice balance between sweet and tart. So, if you want something a bit sweeter, but not too sweet, pink ladies are where it's at.

Other good choices include Fuji, Gala.Granny Smith, Honey Gold, Jonathan, and Winesap.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ ofbatteranddough.com

What's the difference between crumb topping and streusel topping?

Streusel is a German topping that is crunchy, cookie-like, and slightly soft on the bottom where it rests on the tops of muffins, cake or fruit desserts. Typically, the ratio of sugar:butter:flour in streusel is 1:1:2 when measured by weight.

By contrast American-style streusel is what German bakers might call a crumb topping because it usually has a higher sugar and lower flower ratio - 3:1:2 or even 3:3:1.

Because crumb toppings tend to have a higher proportion of sugar and flour to butter, the texture is somewhat sandy cake-like and shakes off easily. A good example is the crumb topping for these Lemon Blueberry Muffins, which contains a high proportion of sugar and flour when compared to the amount of butter.

In this Apple Cinnamon Muffin recipe, the streusel falls somewhere in between traditional German and American recipes with a ratio of 1.5:1:1. Here's why:

• Because the recipe includes some oats, I reduced the amount of flour.
• Because I used brown sugar instead of the more traditional white sugar, I bumped up the amount slightly because brown sugar is a tad less sweet than white.

Apart from being delicious in its own right, streusel adds a contrasting texture – a little crunch on the top of soft, tender muffins. That little bit of crunch is absolute delicious atop these soft muffins with their creamy apple butter center.

I also subscribe to the notion that if you’re going to add streusel, there should be a decent amount of it. The problem is in getting a generous amount of streusel to actually stay on top of the muffins while they bake. And this, my friends, is why I LOVE to use tulip muffin liners.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ ofbatteranddough.com

Recipe: Apple Muffins

For more information, please see the original recipe: Apple Muffins

FOR THE STREUSEL:

• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup old fashioned oats
• 6 tablespoon butter, melted

FOR THE MUFFINS:

• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 tablespoon butter, melted
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ¼ cup plain, unsweetened yogurt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon pure almond extract (optional - can use 2 teaspoon vanilla extract instead)
• 2 cups diced apple, peeled (2 small apples or 1 large)
• ¾ cup apple butter, purchased or homemade (optional)

MAKE THE STREUSEL:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Pour in the melted butter and mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Cover, and set aside.

BAKE THE MUFFINS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners. (12 tulip liners or 24 regular paper liners.)
2. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a medium size bowl and mix with a wire whisk to combine.
3. Combine the melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a medium size bowl and whisk vigorously with a wire whisk for about 30 seconds, until well combined. Add the eggs and whisk for another 30 seconds. Whisk in the yogurt and vanilla and almond extracts until combined.
4. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients and then the apples. The batter will be very thick.
5. Distribute half the batter between 12 tulip-lined cups or 24 regular paper lined cups. Use your fingers or the back of a spoon to press the batter gently into each cup. Dollop about 1 tablespoon of apple butter onto the muffin batter (½ tablespoon if making 24 small muffins). Spoon the remaining batter over the apple butter and use the back of a spoon to press the batter into the cup. Evenly distribute the streusel across all the muffins.
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out mostly clean: 28-32 minutes if baking 12 larger muffins or 18-20 minutes if baking 24 smaller muffins,
7. Let cool on a wire rack.

For more of my recipes, visit alittleandalot.com and ofbatteranddough.com.

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