I wonder what it means that the first two recipes of 2010 are breakfast treats? I am guessing that getting out of bed on these dark, cold, winter mornings requires something more tempting than my usual bowl of cereal or piece of fruit. These Apple Cider muffins will do the trick and have had me looking forward to breakfast for the past couple of days. And lunch. And whenever else I manage to fit them in. They are simple and lovely and keep well. The texture is best on the day you make them but the flavor is best the next day, which I think is a good thing—they evolve.
There is a new publication that might be of interest to you. Remedy Quarterly [1] is a beautiful little journal out of Brooklyn, NY. Kelly Carámbula of Eat Make Read [2] is one of the folks producing Remedy and if you are familiar with her wonderful blog you won’t be surprised by how nice the magazine is. You might also be interested because there just happens to be an interview with me in the first issue— complete with a recipe! I am so happy to be part of what I hope is a food publication with a long and bright future. You can order your copy (or subscribe) HERE [3].
Apple Cider Muffins (from the amazing Karen DeMasco [4])
- Unsalted butter, for the muffin tin (optional)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup grapeseed oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup apple cider
- 3/4 cups sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 crisp baking apples, such as Granny Smith or Mutsu, peeled, cored, coarsely grated, and drained, juices reserved and used as part of the cider measurement
- 1 tablespoon Demerara sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and oil. Add the eggs and whisk to combine. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a third bowl, whisk together the apple cider, sour cream, and vanilla.
Add one third of the flout mixture and one third of the apple cider mixture to the sugar mixture, folding with a spatula just to combine. Add the rest of the flour and cider mixtures in two additions stirring just until combined. Fold in the grated apple, and then divide the batter evenly among with prepared muffin cups, filling each cup three quarters of the way. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the Demerara sugar.
Bake, rotating the muffin tin halfway through, until the muffins spring back to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Then turn out the muffins from the pan and let them cool completely on the wire rack.
These muffins will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.