Apple Muffins

Time: 50 minutes

Difficulty: 4

Serves: makes 12

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour	1 egg
⅓ cup granulated sugar	¾ cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder	¼ cup cooking oil
¼ teaspoon salt	¼ cup apple butter
Streusel Topping (click for recipe)	2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping
1 small apple

Supplies:

12 paper muffin cups (2 ½” is fine)	Cutting board
Measuring cups and spoons	Sharp knife
Medium mixing bowl	Oven mitts/potholders
Wooden spoon	Wooden toothpicks
Small mixing bowl	Wire cooling rack
Vegetable peeler	Forks

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the muffin cups into the pan and set aside for a later step.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the medium mixing bowl. Stir with the wooden spoon and set aside. Make the Streusel Topping (click for recipe) and set that aside as well.

Using a vegetable peeler, carefully cut the skin off of the apple and discard the skin. On the cutting board, core the apple and cut it (it being the apple, not the core) into four pieces. Chop into smaller pieces; estimate the size that they would be good for in muffins. And, you guessed it, set aside for later use.

Crack the egg into the small bowl. Beat with the fork until the white and the yolk are mixed together. Add the milk, oil, and apple butter and mix well.

Combine the egg and flour mixtures. Stir with the wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are wet, then stir in the chopped apples. You want the batter to be a little lumpy, not smooth.

Spoon some of the batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of the Streusel Topping over the top of each muffin.

Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Test them when they are golden brown. Carefully pull out the oven rack (with an oven mitt or potholder!) and stick a toothpick in the center of any muffin. If ANYTHING sticks to it AT ALL, let them bake for a few more minutes and test again. Turn off the oven.

Remove the pan from the oven. Place it on the cooling rack for five minutes. Carefully take out the muffins and put them on the rack. Drizzle the top of each muffin with the caramel sauce. Let cool for ten more minutes before eating and store in the fridge.

Allergy Information: Contains egg and dairy. Dairy also used in Streusel Topping.