LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Enjoy the soothing scent of baked apples in these delicious buttermilk muffins


Buttermilk Apple Muffins Photos Susie Iventosch

This is another one of those recipes that a friend gave me years ago, and it has sat in my to-do pile for probably the past 15 years or so. Yikes. Sometimes you just need a bit of motivation to pull out the mimeographed pages and start whipping up recipes. I had exactly that just recently with a house full of guests for the New Year's holiday weekend.

The recipe is from a page in a cookbook that I don't have, but from my friend's hand-written note, it seems to be from Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in Sheridan, Calif., which is right next to Wheatland. This makes me think the recipe dates back to when our kids were going on Halloween field trips in the early 1990s. The pumpkin farm is closed until next fall, but this recipe will tide you over until you can get there to sample Mrs. B's baked goods, which if this recipe is any indication, are amazing!

What I love about these muffins is how light they are and the fresh apple is so good. We added an extra half cup of chopped apples, plus our own oil-based crumb topping, which we love on these delicious muffins. The recipe only makes 12 regular muffins, so I've already made a second batch inside of two days. I haven't yet doubled the recipe, but I should think that would work just fine. If you try it, let me know how it goes.

You can use your favorite baking apples for this recipe, as none are specified, but I used Honeycrisp and they are really good in the muffins. Also, I like to double this crumb topping recipe and store it in the refrigerator, so when I want to make muffins again, that step is done!

INFO:

https://www.bishopspumpkinfarm.com/home

Buttermilk Apple Muffins

INGREDIENTS

Muffins

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 1/2 cups peeled and coarsely chopped apples

(I used Honeycrisp)

1/2 cup buttermilk

Crumb Topping

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. cardamom

1/8 tsp. all-spice

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts (or pecans)

2 tablespoons canola oil

DIRECTIONS

Crumb Topping

Prepare crumb topping in advance so you are ready to top the muffins as soon as the batter is ready. To make the topping, simply combine all dries and mix well. Stir the oil in with a fork and mix until crumbly. Set aside. If you decide to double the topping recipe, just store the extra in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners. Lightly spray the inside of the liners with cooking spray. (This makes is so much easier to peel the liner away from the muffin when you are hungry!)

In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla and blend well with a fork or whisk. Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Stir in apples and buttermilk to combine with the other ingredients.

Distribute the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Then divide the crumb topping evenly over the top of each muffin.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the center of the muffin springs back when touched with your finger. Remove from oven and serve warm or cool and freeze or refrigerate until later.