NuM NuM

Don't you hate it when you buy an ingredient for just one dish and you don't know what to do with the leftovers? I had some buttermilk left over and thankfully found this recipe. As I skimmed over the list of ingredients I had everything I needed to make these muffins. Buttermilk, check. Apples, check. Must be a sign! Must be meant to be! These muffins were light, fluffy, super moist, and had just the right amount of sweetness. With every bite you get a warm, sweet cinnamony apple which reminds you of an apple pie. You can enjoy them for breakfast or do what I did and eat them for dessert with ice cream - so versatile they are. As an added bonus it really doesn't matter what kind of apple you use since these muffins spend such little time in the oven. Enjoy!

NOTE: As usual I forgot to read the directions and dumped the entire 1/2 cup of brown sugar into the mixture and missed out on the streusel topping. Oh well, just another reason to make them again. Hmmm...I still have more buttermilk and apples in the fridge ^_^


Whole Wheat Apple Muffins
Yield: About 18 muffins.
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (I used sea salt)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature*
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk or yogurt
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups and set aside.
Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.Mix in the buttermilk gently until just blended. Mixture will be lumpy and runny (If you over-mix, the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle.) Turn mixer switch to stir and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Fold in the apple chunks.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

*UPDATE: I swapped out half the butter for unsweetened apple sauce (the entire container) and did not miss any of the extra fat. This time I also made the streusel topping but still liked the original version better with all the brown sugar in the mix.
**I only had a 12 cup muffin tin so I baked the rest in a loaf pan at 375F for 15-18 minutes.
**Mine took only an additional 5 minutes after turning the heat down to 400F