#MuffinMonday ~ Caramel Apple Buttermilk Muffins

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins to brighten their (and your!) Mondays. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest boardL http://www.pinterest.com/flpl/muffin-monday/. Our hostess is the lovely Stacy of Food Lust People Love.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page: http://www.foodlustpeoplelove.com/p/muffinmonday.html

These muffins are awe.some. I didn't even end up adding the caramel drizzle because I thought they were perfect with just the caramelized brown sugar crunchy walnut topping - but I left the ingredients in the list below per the original recipe; you can decide how you like yours best. 

The tender bites of apples blended with the crunch and sweetness from the topping made these muffins perfect in my book. My son really, really liked them as well and ate probably half the batch by himself! I thought these muffins had everything going for them - nice tenderness and texture to the batter, texture contrast with tender apples and crunchy walnuts, just the right amount of sweet, etc. I think these make a wonderful afternoon treat or a delightful way to start the day! We ate them both ways - afternoon snack on the day I made them, and as an accompaniment to eggs and bacon the next morning for a delicious breakfast!

Check out all the delicious muffin offerings for today's inaugural #MuffinMonday post!

• Apricot, Almond, and Toasted Coconut Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Caramel Apple Buttermilk Muffins from Making Miracles
• Carrot Oat Banana Chunk Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Ground Cherry Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pesto Pine Nut Parmesan Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Sour Cream Peach Muffins with Pecan Streusel from The Spiced Life

Caramel Apple Buttermilk Muffins from The Café Sucre Farine

Ingredients

½ cup vegetable oil

1 ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

2-½ cups all-purpose flour (a little more if the batter is too wet)

¼ teaspoon salt

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ¾ cups coarsely chopped peeled apple

For the streusel topping:

1 tablespoon cold butter

⅓ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup finely chopped walnuts

For the caramel icing: (OPTIONAL)

2 tablespoon butter

¼ cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients. Blend with the back of a fork, gently, until you have a crumbly mixture. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400˚ and spray 18 muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda); set aside. In another bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, and egg, and vanilla.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix gently; add in enough buttermilk until a thick but smooth batter is achieved (I did not use the full cup). Gently mix in the apple pieces by hand. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups dividing the batter evenly and filling about ¾ full.
5. Divide the streusel topping equally over the muffins.
6. Bake for 5 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350˚ F. and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until muffins spring back when gently pressed. You can also test the muffins by inserting a toothpick which should come back clean or with just a few crumbs, no wet batter. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove them and let cool for 15-20 minutes on a wire rack before drizzling with caramel icing (if using).

Caramel Icing Instructions

1. While muffins are cooling you can prepare the caramel icing mixture by combining the brown sugar, butter and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir gently until mixture has melted and combined and is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
2. Add powdered sugar and mix vigorously until smooth and creamy. Mixture should drizzle easily, but should not be super 'runny". Add more milk, or powdered sugar, to adjust thickness as needed. Drizzle over cooled muffins.