Caramel Apple Muffins

Nothing stirs the comforting feelings of fall like the smell of cinnamon and apples baking in the kitchen.  Add melted caramel to that wonderful aroma and you might just envision yourself in a Norman Rockwell painting.

I mean who didn't love caramel apples as a kid? 

As an adult, a caramel apple still sounds wonderful but I'm not really up for the effort and sticky face that comes with eating one.  I thought of how good the caramel apple flavor would taste with my October morning coffee and I began hunting for Caramel Apple Muffin recipes.  I tried several and in the end, blended many ideas from different recipes to create my own.  Here's what I came up with.

You will need:


In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.










In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk and vanilla.






Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.


Now stir in melted butter.




Fold in chopped apples. (chop yours smaller than I did here).


Cut 12 Kraft caramels in fours with kitchen shears and toss them in 1 teaspoon of flour.








I found that the foil baking cups work best for these muffins.




Combine topping ingredients with a fork.




Fill paper-lined muffin cups 1/2 full with batter, place four pieces of cut caramel in batter, then top off with batter to equal 3/4"ish" full..






Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of topping over each of the 12 cups of muffin batter.


Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake portion comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
Serve warm.

Can't you just taste the ooey gooey caramel......

Caramel Apple Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped peeled green apple
12 Kraft caramels, cut in fours and tossed in 1 teaspoon of flour

TOPPING:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 Tablespoons quick-cooking oats
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Now stir in melted butter. Fold in chopped apples.

Cut 12 Kraft caramels in fours with kitchen shears and toss them in 1 teaspoon of flour.

Combine topping ingredients with a fork.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups 1/2 full with batter, place four pieces of cut caramel in batter, then top off with batter to equal 3/4"ish" full. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of topping over each of the 12 cups of muffin batter.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake portion comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve warm. Yields 12 muffins.

Enjoy!
~The Lemonista