I have been spending the past couple of days playing around with a few of my favorite apple spice muffin recipes from years ago. You know the ones, you get them from the store, they are MASSIVE and they taste oh so good....but they are basically little cakes of sugar. The substitutes I have been coming up with over the years have just been ok in comparison.
Brown Butter Apple Spice Muffins
After a few tries this weekend I came up with this one though, which is great! It took me a few batches to get what I really wanted, so I now have a couple of dozen batches of muffins in my freezer....no complaints here, I have just decided to call it being super organized.
We may, however, get a tad over apple and spice by the time we have gotten through them!
The brown butter in this apple spice muffin gives it a whole new level of flavor which is sweet yet nutty at the same time.
It gives them that caramel taste you get from using brown sugar, without actually using the brown sugar.
Totally worth the extra couple of minutes it takes to get the butter browned and cooled.
I threw some diced apple chunks in here as well as I like a bit of texture in my muffins.
That's a totally optional step though and really, chunky applesauce would work just as well. I just can't make the chunky variety here as my toddler won't eat 'bits' so I make a nice smooth version.
First world problems right here!
As usual, they freeze really well, just remember to grab them out before you are going to need them. Perfect straight from the oven with a hot cup of tea. Your house will smell amazeballs as well which is always a good thing.
Happy eating.
Recipe
Brown Butter Apple Spice Muffins
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Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups whole spelt flour
- 1 tablespoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup honey
- 1 small apple diced
- 1 cup organic unsweetened applesauce I use homemade
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Place the butter in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the milk solids start to turn brown on the bottom of the pan and it smells nutty. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, allspice, baking soda, salt and baking powder
- Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add in the eggs, honey and browned butter. Gently mix together, making sure not to overmix
- Fold in the diced apple and applesauce until just combined
- Divide the mixture among 12 muffin cups (roughly ¾ full). Bake for about 18 mins until they are a lovely golden brown
- These can be stored at room temperature or frozen
blithe Raines says
These muffins are fabulous and not too sweet! I have always loved using spelt flour in baking. I used the crockpot homemade applesauce for these. The muffins are perfect for having on hand for breakfast on the go or snacks for kids at school. Basically...everything I make from WFB is a hit with the family!
Donna1 says
Oh thank you Blithe 🙂 You have made my day!! Spelt flour is so delicious, it gives such a nice texture to baked goods doesn't it!
Alyssa @ A Bite of Inspiration says
These muffins looks so healthy and delicious! Love the addition of the spelt flour-- it adds an interesting texture component. I'll be making these soon. Thank you so much!
Donna1 says
Oh thank you Alyssa! Spelt flour is just delicious in baked goods, I definitely don't use it enough!!
Kate says
oooh I wish I could sneak a few of your tester muffins out of your freezer. These look great!
Donna1 says
Haha if you were close enough I would gladly hand a few over - we need some more room in there 🙂
The Food Hunter says
I love that they freeze well. makes it easy for on the go mornings.
Donna1 says
Exactly!! Mornings just seem to get busier and busier these days, so it's always handy to have a grab-n-go option 🙂
Platter Talk says
I like the chunks for texture but I also love the brown butter for flavor. Nice!
Donna1 says
Thanks 🙂 The brown butter definitely adds another dimension to the flavor (a yummy one 🙂 )
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Snack, breakfast, these sound just lovely!
Donna1 says
Exactly!!
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine says
These look crazy good! I love chopped apples in muffins. All the ingredients here are things I always have on hand-- bonus!
Donna1 says
I love it when that happens 🙂 Nothing worse than finding something you want to make but having none of the ingredients!!
Chava @ Almost Kosher says
This sounds quite tasty! I think I'd like the chunks for texture too.
Donna1 says
Definitely! I always go for a little bit of texture in my muffins 🙂