Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

Makes 2 Dozen Muffins, Takes about 35-40 minutes


  Yum
   This recipe comes from my late grandmother, who by all accounts was a great baker. Her 3x5 index card of this recipe is succinct in instructions so I am going to try and keep this about the same.  In the fall and winter seasons, we are greeted with two predominant produce items that make their way into everything; Pumpkin and Apple. This recipe let's you have the best of both worlds; A pumpkin muffin that has small chunks of apple mixed throughout, relieving you of what I consider to be one of the hardest decisions to make of the season. The batter is thick, but don't be alarmed, this is an easy recipe that will satisfy anyone looking for their seasonal sweet-tooth fix.

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Ingredients:

Muffin

2 1/2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar
1 Tbl. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Eggs (lightly beaten)
1 Cup Canned Pumpkin
1/2 Cup Oil
2 Cups Apples (peeled and finely chopped)

Streusel Topping

4 Tbl. Butter (softened)
2 Tbl. Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

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Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and while you're waiting, peel and dice your apples.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine first 5 ingredients (Flour, Sugar, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Baking Soda, Salt)
3. In a separate bowl, combine Eggs, Pumpkin and Oil.
4. Stir in the contents of the liquid ingredients bowl to the dry ingredients bowl. This is slow going, looking entirely too dry until it finally all comes together into an orange-ish batter.
5. Once the wet and dry ingredients are fully mixed together, add in your finely chopped up apples and stir them into the batter.
6. In a small bowl, add your streusel topping ingredients together and use a fork (or your fingers if you work quickly) to crumble the butter into the mixture. You should have a bowl full of little clumps.
7.Lightly grease your muffin pans and drop the batter in, filling about 3/4ths of the way full. Top with streusel topping.
8. Bake on middle rack of oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

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Tips/Tricks

When baking, there are some things you should always be doing in order to make your bakes the best they can be. One of those things is sifting your flour so that it's lighter, and the second is using eggs and room temperature.

Any solid apple will work in this recipe, though as usual I suggest apples that are known for baking, Granny Smith's Mcintosh, Pink Lady's, Gala, Honeycrisp.

I don't often use a pre-made Pumpkin Pie spice mixture, since I usually have all the individual spices on hand, but that is how this recipe was written. If you don't have a pre-made pumpkin spice mixutre, you can make up a similar blend that is 1/4 teaspoons of Nutmeg, Clove, Allspice and a 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon.

As with all Pumpkin and Banana baked goods, something happens in the baking process that mutes their Pumpkin/Banana flavor that comes back in full force a day or two after baking. This means that should these muffins last longer than 24 hours, they will taste more strongly of pumpkin on days two and three. Ideally, you should bake these one day ahead of when you intend to serve them, for that full pumpkin flavor to really develop.
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