So, last fall we went apple picking and got 2 1/2 bushels of apples... wow, that was a lot of apples. I made a ton of apple sauce (that Charlotte won't eat since it's brown) and a ton of apple butter. I was going through the chest freezer the other day and realized that I had more apple butter then anyone in their right mind needed. So, I set out to find a recipe to help use it up....
I found a recipe online but changed it a bit. The results were wonderful! The texture is very cake like. It's sweet but not too sweet.
Jon said, "By far, best texture of any muffin you've made."
Charlotte said, "Mmm.. Yummy muffin. Can I have another one when I'm done with this one?"
Evan didn't say anything but smashed the muffin into his mouth. That's my boy.
So, here it is. As some of you may be able to tell, I follow the Alton Brown method of muffin mixing :)
Apple Butter Mini Muffins
makes 24 mini muffins (but if you used a regular muffin pan it would probably make ~8 muffins and cook for maybe 20-25 minutes)
The Wet Team:
1/2 cup oil (I used canola)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup apple butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
The Dry Team:
1 1/2 cup flour (I used Whole Wheat Pastry but All Purpose would work)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
*You could add about 1/2 cup of chopped nuts or raisins here too... I didn't since Charlotte won't eat muffins with "chunks". :)
Preheat oven to 350.
In a small bowl, mix together wet ingredients well.
In a med/large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and mix ONLY until combined. This is SO important. If you mix more then that you'll have tough muffins. The batter will really thick.
Spoon into a 24 mini muffin pan. Bake for 13-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the muffins sit in the pan for a couple minutes before taking them out to cool completely on a rack.
