Cinnamon Apple Muffins

You know what I’ve noticed? You people respond to honesty. That’s right… you like hearing about what I’m up to, you want to know when a bird poops on my head, and you’ll always take time out of your day to hear about our marital problems. In the spirit of that honesty, here are some facts you might not know about me/us/life outside our kitchen:

1. When Sean isn’t home for dinner, I usually spend that dinner watching Glee and eating a meal consisting mostly of peanut butter.
2. Sean reads textbooks for fun. Recently finished: Security Analysis. Currently reading: something else boring.
3. I’m applying to doctoral programs. Sean’s planning on starting a business. We’re taking donations to help us eat and pay rent over the next decade or so.
4. Time to get really honest. Remember everyone, that although at first this might hurt your feelings, honesty is always the best policy. So here goes: many of you can’t seem to figure out who we are, and why your real-life friends Bethany and Sean keep putting up pictures of food on their facebook profiles. If this is you, please turn to the About page. It might clear some things up.

WHEW. Ok, now that we got through True Confessions Bridezilla-style, it’s time to turn to something you all also respond to: muffins. The last muffin recipe I posted (remember? the berry oats muffins?) has remained one of my most-viewed pages. To be honest (har har), I just threw those guys up on a random Wednesday because I thought the pictures looked a little beige and I didn’t think anyone needed another muffin recipe. Turns out I was wrong — you guys must have liked them! Of course, there was a good dose of marital strife in that post, so maybe it’s that whole honesty thing again.

But just in case anyone is actually here for the recipes, I decided to make you guys some new muffins and see if you liked them as well as the others! It might seem that these belong in the fall — and I wouldn’t blame you for pulling out this recipe again in October — but their tender frutiness is appropriate for all seasons. They’re a little more cake-like than their oat-based predecessors, but they’re probably all the yummier for it, and honestly not that much more unhealthy (depending on your choice in sour cream — low fat worked fine for me). I also topped these babies with my new favorite streusel topping, which is now sitting in my freezer, ready to be used on any and all muffins, quickbreads, and cinnamon-spiced baked goods in the future.

By the way, both of these muffin recipes also freeze extremely well! Nothing like grabbing a little baked goodness out of the freezer… a very convenient, satisfying snack!

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

Adapted from Pinch My Salt

• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ cup oats
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temp.
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 medium-sized apple (I used a pink lady; you want something pretty tart)
• Streusel topping (optional, see below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray a 12-cup muffin tin.

Whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, oil, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla.

All at once, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in apples.

Divide batter between the twelve muffin cups. Sprinkle tops of muffins with around a teaspoon of streusel topping if desired.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

All-Purpose Streusel Topping

Adapted from RecipeZaar

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Mix all ingredients until crumbly. I used a pastry blender. Rumor has it that this can keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to six months, but God knows I’m no food safety expert. Freeze at your own risk.

Tagged as: apple, breakfast, fruit, muffins