Apple Spice Buttermilk Muffins

I had been brewing up these muffins in my head for a week now and finally made them yesterday. I was trying my hardest to not get my hopes as I was making the batter, because I've had my fair share of experiences when you get so hyped on a recipe and you imagine in your head how it should taste and then the end result is a big disappointment. WhaaWhaa. While the muffins baked my kitchen smelled of warm autumn spices. I love that part of baking and cooking: the smells! The muffins were delicious, better than what I had imagined in my head, even! I'll surely be making these muffins again and again. Eat them warm with a slathering of butter. Enjoy!

Recipe (yields 12 standard muffins):


1 Granny Smith apple (medium to large size), washed, cored and coarsely grated
1 cup sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon plus two pinches salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted until light brown over low heat
brown sugar for sprinkling on each muffin top


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with liners (I used parchment squares) or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.


Whisk together sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Take washed and cored apple and coarsely grate directly into the bowl with flour mixture. Make sure the juices from the apple make it in the bowl as well. Toss to coat.


In a small pot, melt butter over low heat until brown. Set aside. Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, vanilla in a small bowl.


Pour slightly cooled brown butter over the flour/apple mixture and stir once to help it cool. Make sure to use a rubber scraper to get all the butter out of the pot. Gently fold in the buttermilk mixture in until just combined; do not overmix.


Divide batter into muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Top each with a sprinkling of brown sugar (1/2ish teaspoon). Bake until muffins are browned around edges and spring back when touched, 16-18 minutes. Let muffins cool slightly, about 5 minutes, before taking them out of tin. Serve warm. 

all images by Briana