Apple Spice Streusel Muffins

Apple Spice Streusel Muffins

When I was in college at Cal State Long Beach, my best friend, Kristin worked at the Marie Callender’s in Rossmoor.   Our group of friends would often go there when she was working, and my favorite thing to order there was their apple muffin.  It was huge, and it was more like cake than muffin (as are most restaurant muffins, really).  It was sweet, spicy, and it had pecans mixed in and on top.  I don’t remember there being much apple to it, but I remember it being warm, sweet, and satisfying. 

I’ve searched on and off for a recipe that would match those muffins, which I don’t even think they sell any longer.  Or they changed the recipe and it is no longer the yummy muffin I remember. I was hoping that this recipe would be "the one." (The recipe is no longer accessible on My Muffin Thursdays, but I'm posting the link to the page that tells you that you have to be invited to see the blog anyway so I can at least give that blogger credit.) It's been so long, that I can't exactly tell if it's the same as Marie Callender's, but it's a great muffin nonetheless. There are so many apples in it, that it makes it slightly chewy, if you know what I mean. The crumb is tight, but not dense. Still sort of cake-like. The butter, sugar, and spices work together nicely to make one tasty muffin.

Apple Spice Streusel Muffins

     --adapted from My Muffin Thursdays

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup applesauce
• 2 apples, peeled, cored, and grated
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Streusel:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons* cold butter, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare the streusel topping first by mixing the 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add sliced butter and mix in with fingertips until all butter is incorporated and it looks crumbly. Set aside. (*Note: I didn't like how my streusel melted into the muffins so much, so next time I might only try 3 or 3 1/2 tablespoons of butter for the streusel.)

Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, combine cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Stir with a whisk to thoroughly mix the dry ingredients.
Cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs one at a time till well incorporated. Stir in applesauce and apples until combined.  Stir in dry ingredients just until incorporated and moist. Don't overmix. 
Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Top with about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of streusel. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 23 muffins (I tried for 24, but ran ever so slightly short)