Fall is winding down and you may still have some delicious apples ready to be eaten. While my go to for apples is typically a pie or apple crisp, I also love to use them in bread and muffins.
These muffins are light, fluffy and are slightly sweet. If you would like your muffins on the sweet side I would recommend adding in 1/4 cup more sugar or even sprinkling a little raw sugar on the top of your muffins towards the end of baking.
For this recipe, we are adding a few extra steps to make an otherwise simple recipe a little more flavorful and fun!
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Brown Butter
Our first ingredient that we transform is butter. Take a saucepan and a few extra minutes and you have delicious rich and nutty brown butter. While brown butter is often made with unsalted butter, I used salted. Either way is fine and up to you. A few things to keep in mind when making brown butter:
- Make sure to not use a dark pan so you can really see when the butter is starting to brown.
- Take out your butter about 10-15 minutes before you make it so that it is slightly soft.
- Cut your butter into pieces to prevent splatter and so that it melts down more consistently.
- Once the butter begins to foam and brown, be sure to not leave it in the pan and to transfer to a bowl so it does not burn.
- Make sure to watch and stir your butter so it does not burn. It is super easy to go from brown butter to burned butter.
Apples
I used gala apples but you could also use pink lady or honey crisp. For this recipe you will need to wash, peel and roughly chop your apples. I used 3 small apples which yields approximately 1 1/2 cups.
Instead of just adding the apples to the recipe we are going to cook them down just a bit to make them more flavorful. You are going to use the same pan you used to make your brown butter (don’t wash or rinse it out!) and add a little molasses and vanilla. Cook down for about 3-5 minutes just until soft. We don’t want them to get too soft and mushy.
Buttermilk
Buttermilk helps keep the muffins soft and moist as well as gives them more body. Now, I generally don’t have buttermilk on hand so I made my own. Simply mix 1 tbsp of white vinegar with your milk of choice, I used oat, stir and let sit for five minutes. Voilà, you’ve got buttermilk!
Optional Mix-ins
Ideas for some fun, tasty mix-ins:
- Chopped walnuts or pecans
- Chocolate chips
- Raisins
- Dried Cranberries
Baking Tools & Ingredients
While this recipe requires no special tools or equipment, here are some of my favorite baking tools and ingredients/brands:
These are a great eco-friendly alternative to regular paper liners. Easy cleanup and dishwasher safe!
If you would rather use a paper option, these are made of unbleached, chlorine free and greaseproof paper. Can be composted and packaging is recyclable and plastic free.
Made in France, these mixing bowls are a true kitchen staple. Simple yet heavy duty glass that will last a lifetime. Can’t recommend these enough!
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I used Blackstrap in my recipe but you could use regular. Blackstrap is high in nutrients and has a rich almost tangy flavor. Regular molasses has a sweeter, sugary flavor. See notes in recipe below for more details.
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Pastry flour is wonderful for cookies, muffins and other pastries. Pastry flour typically makes a lighter and fluffier dough.
Brown Butter Apple Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups Peeled & chopped apples I used three small gala apples
- ½ Cup Butter 1 stick
- 1 Tbsp Molasses ** See notes
- 4 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Tsp Cinnamon
- 1 Cup Buttermilk Can sub. 1 tbsp white vinegar mixed with milk of choice. See notes prior to recipe.
- 2 ½ Cups Flour All purpose or pastry
- 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda
- ½ Tsp Salt
- ¾ Cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°
- Chop butter and place in medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until melted. Wait until butter starts to foam and becomes slightly brown. Remove from heat and pour butter into bowl. Let cool.
- Add peeled and chopped apples to same pan over medium low heat. Add molasses, cinnamon and 2 tsp of vanilla. Cook down 3-5 minutes until slightly tender. Remove from heat.
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in large bowl and set aside. In separate bowl mix brown sugar, cooled brown butter, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk together.
- Add wet ingredients to flour mixture in increments. Gently fold in apples.
- Pour batter into prepared muffin pan all the way to the top. Bake at 425° for 8-10 minutes and then 10 minutes at 350°. Remove and cool on wire rack. Enjoy!
Notes
