Apple Muffins

---

These fluffy and rich muffins are absolutely delicious with a tender apple taste.

Total Cooking Time: 40 minutes

I love fruit but sometimes I want to bake it into something else. Maybe I’m not feeling the texture today, maybe it’s gotten a little too ripe and the only way to save it is to bake it. Whatever the reason, I have a few recipes up my sleeve to handle these situations and apple muffins are one of them. Apples are a remarkably interesting fruit to work with because they don’t really blend. They will stay chunky even if they have a soft texture that alternates the mouthfeel between the dough and tender apples.

Check out the Make section of MCG for more fun recipes like desserts and savory dishes.

---

---

Ingredients

The ingredients needed for this recipe are standard, but it does take quite a bit of all of the amounts. On the dry side, we are using two leaveners as well to make the dough even fluffier than it would be if only one was used. The dry ingredients include flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cinnamon. The wet ingredients are eggs, vanilla, and butter. And of course, the main ingredient you’ll need is apples.

Process

The whole process is fairly simple, especially if you have a stand mixer. In the stand mixer, you want to mix together eggs and sugar and whisk them until combined. I wanted to stir in the apples to allow them to soak in the sugar/egg mixture. This helps render the apples. The apples should be cubed before being added to the sugar/egg mixture. While the apples are rendering, I like to whisk the remaining dry ingredients into a separate bowl.

I will admit, I don’t really measure the salt and cinnamon. I kind of just chuck it in and assume that everything is going to be fine. I like spice and flavor in everything, so I don’t mind overdoing it. But be careful! Some spices have pretty negative side effects from being overused – so be careful. Now is also the time to melt the butter. I use the microwave in 10-second bursts.

Then it’s time to add everything together and mix until just incorporated. This can be done in the mixer or by hand using a spatula. You don’t want to overwork the mixture here because it can over mix which makes the dough chewier. Then it’s time to portion out the batter among the pan and bake in the oven.

I adjusted my recipe to the number of apples I had which left me with about 24 muffins. And I ate them faster than I should have.

Lessons

Rendering Apples

Soaking the apples in sugar and eggs will make the apple tender. Apples are about 80% water which can make them mushy when cooked directly. Rendering them in sugar will help draw the liquid from the apples which will make them soft in texture and intensify their flavor.