When we were invited with a group of friends to spend the weekend at the home of friends who had moved away, we each took a meal that we were in charge of. I got breakfast on the Sunday morning. I thought a lot about what I could make that was great, but didn't take much time to prepare or clean up from because we were all going to church afterward. I finally decided on these mini muffins because all the work was done at home! They were a huge hit that weekend and as the same group of friends attends our annual beach trip weekend, I now make these muffins each year to take along.
I originally saw Paula Deen make these muffins on one of her shows, so I went on line to get the recipe. On the show, she ate them plain and they're terrific that way, but I "Paula Deen" them by serving them with homemade cinnamon butter (recipe included below)! The cinnamon butter can be used straight from the refrigerator if it is being applied to something hot like toast, but for use on these muffins, I bring it to room temperature before using it. The only down side to this recipe is that you have to have plenty of time to prepare them. The prep time in itself isn't long, but there are 2 steps in the process with a lot of cooling time needed in between! Don't get me wrong -- the time investment is totally worth it!
The first step is to grate the apples. I give them a good wash and then grate them with the peel on. I have found it easiest to grate around the apple first to get through the peel, then grate it vertically the rest of the way.
As you can see from the photo above, I grate it right down to the core. Usually, 2 medium apples yield the 2 cups needed for this recipe.
The easiest way to grate nutmeg, I've found is to use my microplane. Holding the handle, I rest the tip on my surface and run the nutmeg along the side until I get the amount I need. It's a very handy kitchen tool that can also be used to zest lemons, limes and oranges or grate ginger or parmesan cheese!
In a large saucepan, I place the butter, sugar, raisins, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Don't worry if the apples have begun to darken, they are perfectly fine and they won't even be distinguishable by the time this mixture is cooked! I turn the heat on high and once the butter begins to melt, I can stir the ingredients to combine them.
Once this mixture begins to boil, I turn off the heat and remove the pan to let it cool. This is when the waiting begins. Depending on the time of year and how warm it is in your kitchen, this could take hours! I usually do this part in the morning, so I can bake the muffins in the afternoon. The mixture does need to cool completely before the next step.
I use muffin tin liners in my mini muffin pan, but if I'm out, the tin can also be greased. One friend is allergic to nuts, so I use different liners for 6 of them to distinguish the nut-free muffins just for him!
In a large bowl, I combine the flour and baking soda. Then I add the cooled apple and raisin mixture.
This makes a fairly stiff dough.
Using my Pampered Chef medium scoop, I fill the 6 liners with the nut-free dough.
Then I add in the pecans and mix to combine. I fill the rest of the muffin tin and it's ready to go into the oven. Of course, the nuts can be added before the apple/raisin mixture if you don't have any nut allergies to worry about.
These muffins don't rise much, so they should be filled to the top. Using the scoop, it looks as though the dough comes above the top of the tin, but this amount is perfect.
You can see in the photo above, that they rise a bit and are a perfect golden brown when they come out of the oven. I let them cool a couple of minutes before removing them from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. I store them in Tupperware with wax paper separating the layers when taking them to the beach. This recipe makes 5 dozen, so if you don't plan to use them all at once, they freeze very well.
We love to eat these tasty little treats at breakfast time and they are especially good warm (they can be heated in the microwave), and they're great as a snack, but we're used to having them on our beach trip weekend as we visit with very good, long-time friends! Enjoy!
Apple Raisin Muffins
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated
apples
2 cups
raisins
1 cup (2
sticks) butter
2 teaspoons
ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons
freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon
ground cloves
1 cup chopped
pecans
2 teaspoons
baking soda
3 ½ cups
all-purpose flour
Combine the
water, sugar, apples, raisins, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a large
saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove
the pan from the heat and cool completely.
Preheat the
oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, stir the baking soda and nuts into the
flour. Add the cooled mixture to
the bowl and stir until blended.
Grease miniature muffin tins or line with paper liners. Fill muffin tins with batter to the
top. Bake for 15 minutes at 350°F. These muffins are great served warm or at room temperature
and they freeze well.
Cinnamon Butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 heaping teaspoons ground cinnamon
In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add cinnamon; combine thoroughly. Store in refrigerator.
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