I haven’t made a muffin in ages, and truthfully, muffin recipes rarely call my name anymore. But this “Apple Orchard” muffin, from the Red Truck Bakery cookbook, sounded too good not to make immediately.
For one, the recipe calls for all of my favorite ingredients: oil (as opposed to butter), buttermilk (aka the magical milk), and maple syrup (actually sorghum syrup or honey, but I didn’t have either). Second, each muffin is sprinkled with turbinado sugar, which always makes the tastiest and prettiest top. And finally, I can’t pretend I wasn’t drawn to the name — “Apple Orchard” muffin — cute, right?
These muffins are heaven to me: loaded with apples, very subtly spiced with cinnamon, soft-crumbed, and generously encrusted with sugar.
I posted a photo of these muffins on Instagram this morning and immediately got many requests for the recipe, so pardon the brevity, but I wanted to get this out. Red Truck Bakery , if you are unfamiliar, is a beloved bakery in rural Virginia, and the cookbook includes “85 nostalgic recipes for cookies, cakes, pies, and more to make every day delicious—from breakfast to dessert.” As always, I’ll keep you posted on any more explorations, but this here’s a good place to start.
Gather your ingredients:
This is essentially a two-bowl process:
Buttermilk…
Apples…
Turbinado sugar…
Yum.
Description
From the Red Truck Bakery cookbook, these muffins, to me, are perfect: loaded with apples, very subtly spiced with cinnamon, soft-crumbed, and sugar crusted. They are made with all of my favorite ingredients, too: oil (as opposed to butter), buttermilk (the magical milk), maple syrup (my love… recipe calls for sorghum syrup or honey, but maple syrup worked beautifully), and turbinado sugar, which makes the best crust. You can absolutely use granulated sugar in its place, but if you’re heading to the store, pick up a bag — you’ll never want to make muffins without it. I’m using the Wholesome brand Organic Raw Cane Turbinado — it’s a little lighter in color than turbinado sugars I’ve used in the past, and I’m really loving it.
Also loving my new muffin pan .
A few notes:
I did not use nonstick spray or butter to grease my muffin tin. I just used muffin liners, and it worked just fine.
I omitted the raisins — I’ve never liked raisins in muffins… just me.
I used Honey Crisp apples.
non stick cooking spray or butter for greasing, optional (see notes)
2 3/4 cups ( 355 g ) unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted (or not)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (I use 1/2 teaspoon )
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sorghum syrup or honey (I use maple syrup)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use grapeseed oil or olive oil)
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups chopped (1/2-inch) peeled apples, from about 2 large apples
1 cup golden raisins, optional
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a muffin tin with nonstick spray and line it with paper liners (you may need two tins). Lightly spray the liners as well. (As noted above, I simply used the liners.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, sorghum (or maple) syrup, oil, egg, and vanilla. Add the buttermilk and mix well with a whisk or spatula. Add the flour mixture and stir just until flour disappears. Fold in the apples and raisins, if using.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Generously sprinkle turbinado sugar over each muffin.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool slightly in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a raised wire rack to finish cooling.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
From the Red Truck Bakery cookbook, these muffins, to me, are perfect: loaded with apples, very subtly spiced with cinnamon, soft-crumbed, and sugar crusted. They are made with all of my favorite ingredients, too: oil (as opposed to butter), buttermilk (the magical milk), maple syrup (my love… recipe calls for sorghum syrup or honey, but maple syrup worked beautifully), and turbinado sugar, which makes the best crust. You can absolutely use granulated sugar in its place, but if you’re heading to the store, pick up a bag — you’ll never want to make muffins without it. I’m using the Wholesome brand Organic Raw Cane Turbinado — it’s a little lighter in color than turbinado sugars I’ve used in the past, and I’m really loving it.
Also loving my new muffin pan .
A few notes:
I did not use nonstick spray or butter to grease my muffin tin. I just used muffin liners, and it worked just fine.
I omitted the raisins — I’ve never liked raisins in muffins… just me.
I used Honey Crisp apples.
non stick cooking spray or butter for greasing, optional (see notes)
2 3/4 cups ( 355 g ) unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted (or not)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (I use 1/2 teaspoon )
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sorghum syrup or honey (I use maple syrup)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use grapeseed oil or olive oil)
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups chopped (1/2-inch) peeled apples, from about 2 large apples
1 cup golden raisins, optional
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a muffin tin with nonstick spray and line it with paper liners (you may need two tins). Lightly spray the liners as well. (As noted above, I simply used the liners.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, sorghum (or maple) syrup, oil, egg, and vanilla. Add the buttermilk and mix well with a whisk or spatula. Add the flour mixture and stir just until flour disappears. Fold in the apples and raisins, if using.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Generously sprinkle turbinado sugar over each muffin.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool slightly in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a raised wire rack to finish cooling.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2018/11/29/apple-orchard-muffins/
AA
♬♬♬ It’s the most wonderful time of the year… ♬♬♬
I hum this to myself a lot: When my first CSA arrives in June. When the first good tomatoes all but fall of the vine in early September. When snowflakes the size of golf balls drop from the sky. AND, most of all, when it’s time to talk about cookbooks with my friend Margaret Roach, the master gardener behind A Way to Garden
Last year, we talked about all-time favorites , the first books we ever owned, and the ones with the most besmirched pages. This year , we’ve kept our chat to the latest crop: the fall and winter 2018 cookbooks, and we hope our chat might give you some ideas for gift giving this season. Rest assured, there is something for everyone — the bakers, the boozers, the pie lovers, the pizza lovers, the Ina fans, the Dorie fans, the gadget collectors, and more.
Read the transcript or listen here .
I have not had a chance to cook from all of the books we discussed, and there are many others I haven’t even had a chance to page through yet, namely Emily: The Cookbook , which is #1 on my Christmas wishlist—Santa, hope you’re reading. That said, I have cooked from a number of the season’s new books, and I’ve included some notes below.
Starting Monday Dec. 3, 2018, we’ll each draw one random winner a day through Dec. 14th. Here’s the order of the 12 Days of giveaways. The list will be updated daily to reflect the winner.
- Season : UPDATE: Winner is Cara Priddy
- Everyday Dorie UPDATE: Winner is Frank Wilk
- Israeli Soul : UPDATE: Winner is KARA P.
- Cooking with Scraps : UPDATE: Winner is Katherine Hubbard
- Sister Pie: UPDATE: Winner is Renee D
- Cook Like a Pro: UPDATE: Winner is Jo Kurdzeil
- Genius Desserts : UPDATE: Winner is Susan Rode
- Skinny Taste One and Done : UPDATE: Winner is Amy Olmsted
- All About Cake : UPDATE: Winner is Marie Guiles
- Milk Street Tuesday Nights: UPDATE: Winner is Sarah Bach
- Comfort in an Instant: UPDATE: WINNER is Michelle Swift
- Now and Again : UPDATE: WINNER is Paulina Muratore
One entry per person. Entries end at midnight Thursday, Dec. 13, before the final drawing. U.S. only. Good luck to all.
Category #1:Weeknight-ish/Everyday Cooking
Cook90 : On January 1st 2016, David Tamarkin of Epicurious resolved to cook more — to cook 3 meals a day for an entire month — an experiment he called “Cook90”. In the end, he emerged a better, faster, and healthier cook, and he has since inspired hundreds of thousands of others to take the challenge. His cookbook, Cook90 , outlines exactly how to do it: recipes, strategies, meal plans, and more.
Category #2:Global Flavors
Category #3:Baking
Category #4:Nose-to-Tail
Waste Not: Learned about this one through Margaret and her podcast with Top Chef star Tiffany Derry. Waste No t is a new cookbook from the James Beard Foundation and a campaign of anti-food waste advocacy spearheaded by that organization.
Now and Again : The latest from Julia Turshen, who believes a complete meal doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive, that leftovers can lead to inventive/fun cooking, and that gathering people around the table for a meal is a good thing. Organize both by season and menu — a brunch or an easy Thanksgiving. Helpful tips about what can be made ahead of time. Each menu is followed by a section called “It’s Me Again,” which offers a few recipes for using the leftovers.
And last but not least:
Rebekah Peppler’s Apéritif : For Francophiles and beyond, Apèritif offers recipes for both classic and modern French cocktails, along with French-inspired bites and hors d’oeuvres.
