Muffins!!!

Lately, my oldest boy mini has been mistaken for a girl.  Now, if you know anything about my oldest boy mini, you know that being called a girl is the least of his problems right now.  However, this weekend he was referred to as a lady.  As in a gentlemen opened a door for us, and said, "go ahead, ladies."  Apparently being called a lady is much more offensive than being called a girl when you're a 9 year old boy.  Here is a photo of my boy minis shortly after my oldest mini the "lady incident".

Now, I don't see how he could be mistaken for a lady, but maybe that's because I live with him and I know the noises that come out of that body could not come from any lady.  However, I did come home and make appointments for haircuts.

Yesterday was a chilly day and as we were on our way to get our haircuts, I got this overwhelming desire to do some baking.  So I asked my boy minis what they would like for me to bake for them.  My middle mini shouted, "asparagus!" and my oldest minis shrugged and said, "asparagus does sound good."

Well, they're sort of a buzz-kill on the baking endorphins that were surging through my body.  

I decided to skip their recommendation and make a batch of apple cinnamon muffins.  

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground all-spice
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups diced peeled apples (I use Granny Smith)

For the Topping

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground all-spice
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups diced peeled apples (I use Granny Smith)

For the Topping:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons melted butter

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and all-spice. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined. Do not over mix. Add in the apples and stir until just combined.  

3. To make the crumb topping, in a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and melted butter. Mix with a spoon until crumbly.

3. Fill the prepared muffin pan with muffin batter, filling each cup about 3/4 the way full. Sprinkle each muffin with crumb topping. Bake for 20 minutes, or until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let muffins cool to room temperature and serve.

Combine your dry ingredients.

Mix together your wet ingredients.

Combine wet and dry ingredients until must moistened.  Do you know that I once took a college course over the chemistry of why overmixing muffins leads to flat muffins?  Fascinating stuff.

This is a new cooking spray I tried.  Smells amazing.  Worked well too.

Make your crumb topping.

Fill the muffin tin with the muffin batter and top with a spoonful of crumb topping.

Bake until toothpick comes out clean.

These muffins were delish!   The minis loved them.  See how happy they are....

In case you were wondering, this photo was taken AFTER the haircuts.  Sorry, dad!