Brown Butter Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Pecan Streusel

Brown Butter Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Pecan Streusel

Beautiful brown butter studded apple muffins made with with chunks of juicy apples AND applesauce! A touch of brown sugar, maple syrup and a crunchy cinnamon pecan streusel will have you coming back again and again! And the apple muffins stay moist for days! Make these, you won't regret it.

Course Breakfast, Snack, Vegetarian

Cuisine American

Keyword apple muffins, brown butter apple muffins

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings muffins

Calories 232cal

Author Monique Volz of AmbitiousKitchen.com

Ingredients

For the topping & streusel:
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup finely chopped raw pecans
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
Wet ingredients:
⅓ cup salted butter
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup packed brown sugar (or sub coconut sugar)
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry ingredients:
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour (or sub gf all purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
Mix-ins:
1 medium honeycrisp apple (or another firm & sweet apple), peeled, cored and roughly chopped into ¼ inch pieces (about 1 cup chopped apple)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners and spray the inside of the liners with nonstick cooking spray. This will prevent sticking.
First make your streusel topping: in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add in the melted butter and stir together with a fork until it begins to form into crumbles and resembles clumps of wet sand. You may need to use your hands/fingers to form into nice thick ‘crumbs’. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Make your brown butter: add ⅓ cup butter to a large saucepan or skillet and place over medium heat. The butter will begin to melt, crackle, and then eventually foam. Make sure you stir constantly during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown and turn a nice golden amber color on the bottom of the saucepan, this usually happens right when it foams. Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Set aside until cool enough to touch, about 5 to 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients until well combined: applesauce, eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
In a separate medium bowl: whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined; do not overmix. Finally stir in the brown butter until well incorporated, then fold in the chopped apples.
Divide batter evenly between the prepared muffin liners, then evenly sprinkle the streusel on top. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until the tester comes out of the middle clean. Allow muffins to cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the pan before removing and transferring to a wire rack. Enjoy muffins warm with butter. Makes 12 muffins. Store muffins at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days, then transfer to the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

To make gluten free: use an all-purpose 1:1 gluten free flour.

To make dairy free: use a vegan butter (I like Miyokos) instead of regular butter. Do not attempt to brown the vegan butter, simply melt it instead and use in the recipe as directed.

To make these a little heartier (and a little more nutritious!), use up to 3/4 cup of white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour in place of the all-purpose flour.

Nutrition