holiday muffins | The Rowdy Baker

The spicy fragrance of fall will fill your kitchen as these Apple Pumpkin Muffins bake. Tender apples and a crunchy streusel top spicy, fluffy pumpkin muffins – perfect for a holiday breakfast.

I know I may have been a little . . . well . . . opinionated in the past when I said that muffins should be sort of rustic and not too sweet. I also may have stated that if you want soft and sweet you should eat a cupcake. Ahem. I’m making an exception for these luscious muffins.

I used cake flour and buttermilk to make these babies melt in your mouth. More dessert-like than a regular muffin, though they’re still (and I should know) wonderful for breakfast. Personally, I’d be happy to switch out my slice of pumpkin pie for one of these muffins on Thanksgiving; the pumpkin pie spice in the batter takes them over the top.

If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can substitute the following: 1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon powdered ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves

Apple Pumpkin Muffins

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Makes 12 muffins using tall tulip-style paper liners. If you use regular liners the recipe will make approximately 18.

Ingredients

STREUSEL:
⅓ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup cake flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons melted butter
MUFFINS:
2 cups cake flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
⅔ cup buttermilk
½ cup solid pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup chopped apple (about 1 medium) tossed in 2 tablespoons flour

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 F. Place 12 tall tulip style paper liners in muffin tin.
In a small bowl, combine all of the streusel ingredients, breaking large lumps apart with a fork. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until thoroughly combined.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla.
Add egg mixture and melted butter to the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.
Divide mixture evenly between the 12 paper liners – approximately ⅓ cup in each.
Divide chopped apples between each muffin, without pressing into the batter.
Divide streusel between each muffin.
Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of a muffin.
Cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely.

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This recipe was made using tall tulip-style paper liners. If you plan on using regular muffin liners, the recipe will make approximately 18 smaller muffins and will bake for about 22 minutes.

I neglected to take in-process photos of the streusel, but I know you don’t need to see a picture. Just stir it together! I did remember to grab my camera for the muffins though.