Caramel Apple Muffins
When the morning autumn air is bitingly cold, preheat the oven and bake these caramel apple muffins. The sweet apples, soft caramel and warm streusel stave off the chill.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped peeled tart apple
- 12 caramels, chopped
- TOPPING:
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, 2% milk, melted butter and vanilla extract. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until they're moistened. Editor’s Tip: One of our best muffin tips is to not overmix the batter. Mixing too much will overdevelop the gluten, which will make the muffins dense.
- Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the chopped apple and caramels.
- Evenly fill 12 paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full of the batter. Editor’s Tip: I like to use a cookie scoop to evenly and consistently fill the muffin cups.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the brown sugar, quick-cooking oats, melted butter and cinnamon until the mixture is crumbly. Evenly sprinkle the streusel all over the batter.
- Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the cake portion comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for five minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan and transfer them to a wire rack. Serve the apple and caramel muffins warm.
Our caramel apple muffins taste as if you’re eating fall itself. Freshly chopped apples and sticky pieces of caramel are suspended in a tender, cinnamon-scented muffin crumb, with a knobbly brown-sugar streusel baked right on top. They’re divine when slightly warm from the oven: The apples taste extra sweet, the streusel melts in your mouth and the caramel oozes in sticky trails. You can even double the amount of apples if you just came back from the orchard.
- All-purpose flour: Measure the flour properly so you don’t accidentally pack too much into the measuring cup. You don’t want to end up with dry, dense muffins!
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the muffins. For a deeper sweetness reminiscent of caramel and molasses, use light or dark brown sugar instead.
- Baking powder: A little baking powder will help the muffins fluff up and rise nicely.
- Cinnamon: If you bake a lot of fall desserts, you should invest in different types of cinnamon for a variety of nuanced flavors.
- Egg: You’ll only need one egg to bind the ingredients for a nice muffin structure.
- Milk: While we suggest 2% milk, feel free to use whole milk, heavy whipping cream or nondairy milk alternatives. This recipe is forgiving, so I just use up whatever milk is in my fridge.
- Butter: Melt the butter and let it cool ever so slightly. You could also make brown butter for a deeper, nuttier flavor.
- Apples: Always peel the apples first before coring and chopping them. If you like a lot of apples in your baked goods, double the amount of chopped apples.
- Caramels: Look for individually wrapped soft caramels for these muffins. No need to go for an expensive brand here if you can’t swing it. You could use Kraft Caramel Bits instead.
- Streusel: If you’re anything like me, you love it when your desserts have texture. Crumbly brown sugar streusel provides just that, with oats for added chew and cinnamon for added fall flavor.
In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the egg, 2% milk, melted butter and vanilla extract.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until they’re moistened.
Editor’s Tip: One of our best muffin tips is to not overmix the batter. Mixing too much will overdevelop the gluten, which will make the muffins dense.
Step 3: Portion the batter into muffin tins
Evenly fill 12 paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full of the batter.
Editor’s Tip: I like to use a cookie scoop to evenly and consistently fill the muffin cups.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the brown sugar, quick-cooking oats, melted butter and cinnamon until the mixture is crumbly.
Evenly sprinkle the streusel all over the batter.
