Apple Cinnamon Muffins

for muffins:

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup diced apples

for topping:

• 3 tbsp coarse sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix together first 4 ingredients (egg, butter, oil & vanilla)
3. In separate bowl, mix together flour, powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, brown sugar
4. Add dry ingredients to wet alternating with adding the buttermilk
5. Add apples
6. Top with spoonfuls of topping
7. Put into liners in muffin pans
8. Bake 15-18 minutes

this recipe was found at Baking Bites

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1¼ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1. Oven to 350° F
2. Combine cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
3. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into a bowl with butter, beat until light and creamy in color (3 minutes), scrape down sides of bowl and beat for 1 minute more
4. Fill cupcake tins (with paper liners) about 2/3 of the way full
5. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean
6. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack
7. Frost, if desired (Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting - variation of this recipe was used for the pictured cupcake)
   

from Annie's Eats

Double Peanut Butter Cupcakes

from Mommy's Kitchen

• 2/3 butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1. 350 degrees
2. Cream butter and sugar
3. Add eggs, beat well
4. Add peanut butter, beat well
5. Fill muffin liners about 3/4 full
6. Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean
7. Cool and frost

I chose to use the Peanut Butter Frosting recipe that I used previously on chocolate cupcakes. Except this time, I added much more peanut butter to the frosting (maybe even a cup). I just added and tasted until it was super creamy and super peanut buttery.

Lemon Cupcakes

(or Lemon Pound Cake)

In blog hopping, I discovered an incredible amount of delicious looking/sounding recipes! Here is the first I decided to try from here.

• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons juice from 2 medium lemons
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Lemon Glaze (Optional)
  
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice , from 1 or 2 medium lemons

1. 350 degrees
2. Line muffin pans with liners (or Grease 9 by 5-inch loaf pan)
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside
4. Melt butter
5. In blender (or food processor), combine sugar and zest
6. Add lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla to blender
7. Add eggs slowly into blender
8. Transfer mixture to bowl, and sift flour mixture over while whisking gently
9. Pour batter into prepared muffin pan and bake 10 minutes
10. Reduce oven temperature to 325 and continue to bake until golden brown (20-30 minutes)
11. For lemon glaze, bring sugar and lemon juice to boil while stirring occasionally
12. Simmer until thickened
13. Poke a hole in the center of each cupcake, and drizzle with lemon glaze
14. Top with powdered sugar, if desired

They turned out so lemony.. almost sour.. but delicious! :) And even though I found the recipe, all credit for making them goes to Abbie.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

from Recipezaar

• 2 cups sugar (used 1 cup white, 1 brown)
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa (dark)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (add 1 Tbsp vinegar to 1 cup milk)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease cupcake pans (used liners)
3. Combine dry ingredients and then add buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla
4. Beat on medium for 2 minutes
5. Stir in boiling water
6. Pour into prepared pans
7. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until wooded toothpick comes out clean
8. Cool
9. Frost, if desired (I used Peanut Butter Frosting)

Apple Cupcakes

It's only the beginning of September, but after flipping through a magazine, I was in the spirit of Fall! Thus, ready to make something with apples.. there was a recipe in a magazine for apple cupcakes.. it looked amazing, but difficult. So I turned to the World Wide Web. I found a cupcake recipe from Martha Stewart. I modified it slightly by cutting the sugar in half, and using Granny Smiths. The sugar amount was plenty! especially with the addition of frosting. For frosting, I used a simple recipe from the Cupcake Project.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 smaller apples, shredded (around 4 cups)

1. Set oven at 350 degrees
2. Whisk together flour, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.. set aside
3. Blend butter and sugar together until creamy
4. Add 2 eggs and vanilla
5. Add shredded apples
6. Add dry ingredients and mix until evenly wet, but do not mix too long
7. Line muffin tins, (I sprayed them with nonstick spray as well), and fill about 3/4 full
8. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
9. Let sit about a hour before frosting (Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting)