Caramel Apple Crumble Muffins Recipe

The following recipe was developed by Ms. Marcy Meier Braselton, owner of Community Kitchen Atlanta.  Visit Marcy’s website at www.communitykitchenatl.com for a host of taste-tempting recipes.

Caramel Apple Crumble Muffins

Muffins:

1/2 C cultured butter, room temperature

1/4 C granulated sugar

1/4 C light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 T vanilla bean paste

1 2/3 C Unbleached cake flour

1 t baking soda

1 C high quality apple butter

3/4 C cultured whole buttermilk

1 jar Southern Caramel Salted Caramel Sauce

Crumble:

1/2 C old fashioned oats

1/4 C cake flour

1/4 C brown sugar

1 T ground cinnamon

1 t ground ginger

1 – 2 T cultured butter, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-capacity muffin tin with baking cups. Set aside.

To make the crumble topping:

Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger in a small bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the mixture. It should be crumbly and a little dry. Set aside.

To make the muffins:

In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugars at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla bean paste and continue beating for another minute. Reduce mixer speed to low, slowly add the flour mixture and mix until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the apple butter and buttermilk and mix until just combined.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling three-quarters full. Add 1 t of the salted caramel sauce to the top of each filled muffin cup. Using a small knife, swirl the caramel sauce through the batter. Top each muffin with 1 T of the crumble topping. Bake until the muffins have risen and are lightly browned, about 25 minutes.

Makes 12