WITH CINNAMON STREUSEL TOPPING

Man, do I love fall spices! I’m not referring to those overly sugared pumpkin spice lattes, folks. I’m talking about the trifecta of fall flavors: cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. When I bake with these flavors, I am transported to the pages of a Martha Stewart magazine.

You know what I’m talking about. Martha is wearing a cute, chunky knit sweater, holding a pumpkin or an arrangement of dried flowers and leaves, and behind her is an enormous table resplendent with beautiful place settings and a feast for 20. In other words, an imaginary place I will never experience in real life, but one that makes me feel all cozy inside.

When it’s 90 degrees, and I’m yearning for cooler weather, these spiced apple walnut muffins give me just enough lift in spirit to hold me over for a couple more months. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

ingredients

ingredients

• 300 g all-purpose flour
• 150 g granulated sugar
• 2 g ground cinnamon
• 1 g ground ginger
• 1 g ground nutmeg (freshly grated is even better)
• 18 g baking powder
• 4 g salt
• 120 g whole egg (about 2 lg)
• 210 g milk
• 120 g unsalted butter, melted
• 7 g vanilla extract
• 150 g apple, peeled and diced (Honeycrisp or any tart variety)
• 75 g walnut, chopped

Cinnamon Streusel Topping

• 100 g all-purpose flour
• 39 g granulated sugar
• 39 g brown sugar
• 1 g salt
• 3 g ground cinnamon
• 57 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

equipment

• whisk
• wooden spoon or spatula
• large bowl for mixing batter
• medium bowl for mixing streusel
• 2 standard muffin pans
• 24 muffin liners

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instructions

MAKE THE STREUSEL

1. Whisk sugars, flour, salt and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl.
2. Pour melted butter over the top and mix with a fork until it looks clumpy.
3. Set aside or cover and refrigerate until ready to use. You can make this up to two days in advance.

MAKE THE BATTER & BAKE:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, spices, salt, baking powder and sugar until well combined then set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla and cooled butter until frothy and well combined.
4. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix just until flour is moistened an no dry bits are visible.

5. Fold in chopped walnuts and apples.
6. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full then top, generously, with streusel.
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.