Apple Pie Filled Cider Doughnut Muffins

Muffins and doughnuts. I love them both! I like muffins better, though. I think. I’ve made doughnut muffins a couple times already, and they were wonderful. I’d have to say, though, that these are by far my favorites! They’ve got that classic doughnut flavor--nutmeg, and plenty of it. It’s just enough so that when these are baking, your taste buds will be anticipating a doughnut. The apple pie filling is a nice addition in the middle, and the glaze--when it sets, it has that nice “crackly” quality. Like when you bite into a glazed doughnut. These are kid and husband approved. Everything about them says Autumn, from the cider doughnut flavor to the apple filling and warmly spiced glaze.

I actually made these first a couple of weeks ago, and wanted to change things up a bit. For one, cutting the butter. I adapted this recipe from BBC Good Food. Doubled it, added some stuff, changed some things. There were five ounces of melted butter in the original--doubling it would have meant ten. TEN. Which is two and a half sticks! That’s a lot of butter. I brought in some applesauce to take the place of about half of that. Thank goodness for applesauce in baking! It’s a fabulous fat replacer. Just shop carefully and look for one without that useless poison, HFCS. No one needs that! And unfortunately, most major brands have it. And they market it right at your kids! Look for the organic choices in your market. (Lecture over.) The yogurt in these also helps to keep the muffins tender and not dry.

A note on the boiled cider in these. It’s not a necessity, but it’s a great ingredient to have in your fridge. It’s very intense, so a little goes a long way. Use it in baking, in sauces, with pork or chicken--use your imagination! There are a lot of good ideas in the comments here on King Arthur Flour’s site. If you want to, you can even make your own. And it’s the season--apple cider is everywhere! You could make some now to last you quite a while!

The filling. I had a jar of Maple Apple Drizzle that I picked up at a general store in the mountains. You can kind of see what kind of texture it is in the photo. Think apple pie filling. You can make your own really quickly by dicing an apple or two into small chunks, adding a touch of sugar or maple syrup, and some spices--apple pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. No need to overthink it--just add stuff till it tastes good to you. Or if you don’t want to do that, use a good chunky applesauce and just break up any large chunks of apple.

Now, aside from these notes about the boiled cider and the filling, these are so easy to make! Dry stuff, wet stuff, add the wet to the dry, mix. Done! The glazing takes just a few minutes. After a couple of days being stored, the glaze will soften up and sink into the muffins. They still taste great, though, so it’s a small matter to me. If you’re planning on taking these somewhere, glaze just a couple of hours before you go, or the day before.

Apple Pie Filled Cider Doughnut Muffins

Makes 16-17 standard sized muffins
Adapted from BBC Good Food

Muffins:

1 cup sugar
3 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp nutmeg
4 eggs
1 cup Greek yogurt (you can use sour cream or plain yogurt)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick (4 oz) plus 1 tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled
3/4 cup applesauce (please look for one without HFCS!)
2 tbsp boiled cider (or regular apple cider)

Apple Pie Filling Options:

You'll need about a cup or so of filling.

Maple Apple Drizzle or Finely diced apple that's sprinkled with a bit of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg--or apple pie spice, then cooked down a bit to get that caramelized apple texture. You could also skip the cooking part and just leave the spiced apple chunks as is--OR chunky applesauce OR premade jarred apple pie filling--just cut the apples into small pieces.

Glaze--Optional:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted to remove lumps
3/4 tsp apple pie spice
Pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
5 tbsp apple cider

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tins, or line with paper liners. I like the crispy edges, so I don't use paper.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg. Mix well with a whisk and set aside. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, vanilla, butter, applesauce and boiled cider. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until moistened. (Don't stir the heck out of it, be gentle--I like to use a rubber spatula and mostly "fold" the ingredients together.)

Put a couple of tablespoons of batter in about 16 muffin cups. I used a 2 1/2 tbsp sized ice cream scoop. (You can go back and make one or two more if you have enough batter.) Using a measuring teaspoon, add one teaspoon of filling in the center of each mound of batter. Go back now and add another 2-3 tbsp of batter over the tops of each muffin.

If you decide not to use the glaze, sprinkle the top of each muffin with apple pie spice or just cinnamon--and then proceed to bake. If you're using the glaze, leave the tops alone and bake the muffins.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 and bake for 6 more minutes. A tester should come out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in pans for 5-10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool on racks completely before glazing.

To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in the apple pie spice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Whisk in the apple cider until completely blended. Dip the top of each muffin into the glaze, and set back on the cooling rack over a baking sheet to catch the drips.

Blueberry Lemon Lime Corn Muffins

Today is National Blueberry Muffin Day, did you know? 

Blueberries have been available in abundance in my area lately, and they’ve been so sweet and juicy, so I’ve been buying a lot. We’ve just been eating them by the handful, but this past weekend, the baking mood hit me. I needed muffins, and fast!

I did a quick Google search for something different and found a recipe here that used orange juice and zest. I didn’t have either of those things, but I did have some pink lemonade in the fridge, and a lime in the crisper. Where are the damn lemons when you need them? Ah well, doesn’t matter, because the lime zest added a nice flavor kick.

Super simple muffins as always--mix the dry, whisk the wet, mix the two, fold in the extras.

Blueberry Lemon Lime Corn Muffins

Makes 11-12 muffins, adapted from this recipe.

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup lemonade
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
grated zest of one lime
2 1/4 cups fresh blueberries (frozen is fine if that's what you have)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a standard muffin tin, or line with papers. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the first six ingredients (flour through the salt).

In a medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, lemonade, butter, egg and zest. Add to the dry mixture and stir just to moisten. Fold in the berries.

I always use my ice cream scoop to fill the muffins tins. And I used a heaping scoop this time, so I ended up with 11 muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and a tester inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes in the pan--5-10 minutes or so. Remove to a cooling rack.

• These are such nice muffins--I love the texture that the cornmeal adds. I’m sure they’d also be wonderful with the OJ and OZ*, but they’re very versatile.
• I think they could have used some vanilla or other extract, so I’ll try that next time.
• They’re something a little different than your average blueberry muffin. The citrus always adds a nice touch!

*Orange juice and orange zest, of course.

Tropical Sunshine Muffins

What do you do when you’ve had the dreariest, snowless winter ever and you’re sick and tired of the gray, boring blahs? You go through your fridge, freezer and pantry, pull out the pineapple, oranges, and coconut, and make tropical-type muffins that make you think you’re tasting a small bit of the tropics. Will these transport you to a beach in the Caribbean? A Hawaiian Island? A gorgeous deck overlooking the most beautiful turquoise water in the world? No. But they taste great, and they may cheer you up and lift your spirits, even if only for your breakfast or coffee break!

These are the easy “mix the dry, mix the wet, then add the wet to the dry” type muffins. And thank you to my Facebook friends for helping me choose a name for these!

Tropical Sunshine Muffins

Makes 19 standard size muffins.
Adapted from Fine Cooking

3 12 cups flour
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
10 tbsp butter, melted and cooled a bit
1 cup buttermilk (or whole milk)
1 cup Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt or sour cream)
2 large eggs plus one egg yolk
1 1/2 cup chopped pineapple, drained (canned or fresh)
1 cup toasted chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut, DIVIDED IN HALF (you're going to toast half of it for the muffins tops)
zest of one medium orange

Glaze:
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tbsp pineapple juice
2 tbsp orange juice

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease one standard muffin pan and 7 cups in a second muffin pan.

To toast the pecans--heat a small pan over low to medium heat. Stir occasionally, but watch carefully. When you start to smell them, they're getting there. When they're a nice golden brown, remove them and set them aside. Repeat this step for the 3/4 cups coconut. Watch them both carefully, because they go from toasted to burnt quickly. Don't be tempted to walk away--it only takes a few minutes, and at the same time--adds so much flavor!

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, butter, buttermilk, yogurt and eggs--mix well.  Pour the wet into the dry, and with a rubber spatula, gently fold until the dry stuff is mostly mostly moistened. Fold in the pineapple, pecans, the untoasted coconut and the orange zest. Don't overmix--the batter should be a bit lumpy.

I always use an ice cream scoop to get the same amount in each muffin tin, but you can use a spoon, as well. Evenly distribute the batter--you should get about 19 muffins. Bake for 30 minutes and start checking for doneness--golden brown and a tester inserted will come out clean. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pans for about 10-15 minutes, then remove the muffins to cooling racks to cool completely.

Make the glaze:

Put the confectioners sugar in a bowl and add the pineapple and orange juices. Whisk to mix well and remove any lumps. Place the muffins on the cooling racks over a sheet pan lined with parchment or foil, and spoon some glaze over each of the muffins. Right after glazing the muffins, sprinkle the toasted coconut over each one. The toasted coconut also helps to sort of “set” the glaze so they’re not so sticky later.

Store in an airtight container. Oh! If it's hot in your kitchen, you'll want to refrigerate these. Pineapple in baked goods gets funky really fast when it's warm.

Raspberry Lime Coconut Muffins with White Chocolate Lime Glaze

Wow, that’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Come to think of it, so are the muffins. They rise up nice and round over the tops muffin tins. You even have to separate them a bit because they rise so nicely. These muffins are a nice departure from the heavier, deeper flavors and textures of winter. I’d even go so far as to say they’re perfect for Spring and Summer! The raspberries, lime, coconut and white chocolate glaze are not traditionally winter flavors, but if you want to make these in the cold weather? I say go for it! They’ll knock your socks off!

I made these with a Valentine’s Day Breakfast or brunch in mind. But you guys know me--I love muffins and I adore anything with raspberry and lime--so I’ll be making these for every day occasions, for sure! The sour cream keeps them super moist without making them heavy. And don’t feel like you need to glaze them every time. The first time? Yeah, so you can get the full experience. But for every day, the coconut on top that gets nice and toasty in the oven would be just fine.

So…when you look at the list of ingredients and the directions, it may seem long or complicated, but it really isn’t. The muffins are the classic method: mix the dry, mix the wet, add the wet to the dry. Simple! The glaze is made while the muffins are cooling, and it’s a cinch to make. If you’re in a hurry, you could make the glaze while the muffins are baking, then just warm it slightly to the right consistency when you’re ready to glaze them. Just don’t glaze the muffins while they’re too hot, or the world as you know it will come to an end and the multiple universes will come crashing together to wreak all sorts of havoc. OR, the glaze may just slide right off the muffins. (I think I may be watching too much Fringe. Which, if you’re not watching, you should be!)

 

Raspberry Lime Coconut Muffins with White Chocolate Lime Glaze

Makes 15 muffins

Muffins:
3 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 heaping cup sugar
10 tbsp butter, melted-slightly cooled
1 cup milk, room temp.
1 cup sour cream, room temp.
2 eggs, room temp
1 egg yolk, room temp
juice and zest of one lime
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp raspberry extract (or add another 1/2 tsp of almond if you don't have raspberry)
1 cup frozen raspberries (or fresh if you've got them)
3/4 cup shredded coconut, plus more for topping

Glaze:
1/4 cup PLUS 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream or half and half
zest of one lime
2 tbsp golden syrup or corn syrup
1/8 tsp citric acid (optional-but it gives that nice pucker up feeling)
6 oz white chocolate, chopped

Prepare Muffins:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin, and about 3 muffin cups in a second tin (the recipe makes 15 muffins). In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt-mix it well. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, butter, milk, sour cream, eggs, lime juice and zest, and extract(s).

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold gently using a rubber spatula-don't over mix. The batter can be lumpy. Add the raspberries and coconut, and again, fold them in gently.

Fill the muffin cups-I use an ice cream scoop for evenly sized muffins. My ice cream scoop is a size #12, which is a 3 oz scoop. The size is located on the sweeping blade. Use a heaping scoop-the batter is thick, so it's ok to put a big scoop of dough in there-it's not going to run over the sides. You should end up with 15 muffins.

I topped them with coconut before baking, but during baking, I realized I wanted to glaze them. So what I'd do next time, is not top them beforehand. Toast some coconut in a pan, and then sprinkle that over the glaze. But it's up to you!

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Tops should be golden brown and spring back lightly when you touch them. (Also-the tops may bake close together, and you may need to run a knife through before removing from the pan.) Cool in the pans on a rack for about 15 or so minutes.

Prepare the glaze while the muffins are cooling:
Gently heat the cream, zest, syrup, and citric acid (if using) in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Watch closely. As it starts to gently bubble, add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted.

Remove the muffins from the pans and place on a cooling rack over a parchment lined baking sheet. Spoon the glaze over the muffins. Cool completely.

• Make these for someone you love this Valentine’s Day and show them how much you care. It’ll get their day off to a great start!
• I’ll bet your office mates would owe you big if you made these for them, too. You could at least make them think they owe you big, right? Ha!

Chocolate S’mores Muffins

As it so often happens, my kids wanted a snack.  Same with all kids, isn’t it?  They’re all about the snacks!  I didn't really have anything they wanted, so it must have been time to hit the grocery store when I made these. 

Let’s take a trip through the pantry, shall we?  Hmmm…besides all of the regulars (flour, sugar, baking stuff, cooking staples, etc.), I managed to scrounge up a small amount of mini marshmallows, a few lonely graham crackers, and big bonus--two Hershey bars! 

How in the heck had all four of my four kids missed the chocolate bars?   I must have hidden them really well!  I should work in witness protection or something where you have to be ridiculously good at hiding things that people really want.  “What?  You witnessed a major crime and need to go into hiding?   Let’s put you up on the top shelf in the pantry behind the grown up cereal.  No one will ever check there.  It’s true!”  Ha!

These are super easy to make.  It’s the usual method--stir the dry, whisk the wet, add the two together.  I toss the extras (marshmallows, chocolate, and grahams) into the dry ingredients just to make sure everything’s coated and not stuck together when they hit the wet ingredients. 

I decided to make the muffins themselves chocolate.  Chocolate overload paired with the Hershey bars?  No way!   There’s never too much chocolate in any one thing.  Ever.  They’re not sweet at all, either--just right!  You get hits of the milk chocolate, the pieces of graham cracker (which you want to be able to see, so don’t pulverize them, ok?), and the sweet, little bursts of marshmallows.  Which,  by the way, are the reason you don’t want to leave these to sit in the muffin tin for too long.  If there are any melty mallows on the edges of the muffins,  they’ll hang on to that pan for dear life once they’re completely cool.

Chocolate S'mores Muffins
makes 12

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup mini marshmallows
2 (1.55 oz) Hershey milk chocolate bars, broken into chunks
3 whole graham crackers, broken into chunks, but not too small
2 eggs
1 cup milk
6 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
In a medium bowl, stir all of the dry ingredients together (flour though brown sugar).
Gently fold in the marshmallows, chocolate chunks, and graham cracker pieces.

In a smaller bowl, whisk all of the wet ingredients (eggs through vanilla).
Stir the wet mixture into the dry, and gently fold till everything is incorporated.
Divide mixture between the 12 muffin cups, and bake for about 17-18 minutes.
Do the toothpick test.  Should be clean.
After baking, cool on a rack for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges, remove the muffins from the pan, and continue cooling on the rack.

YOU MUST remove them from the pan after the 5 minutes or so, or they'll want to stay in the pan forevaaah!
Trust me.

The verdict:

• The kids (and grown-ups) loved these!  They’re a quick snack that incorporates the elements of a S’more without the sticky mess. 
• They’re not too sweet, believe it or not!  The cocoa in the batter adds the chocolate without the sweetness. 
• These make me want to bake with milk chocolate more often, which is something I rarely do.
• All in all, a nice little tasty snack that comes together very quickly.