TASTY TUESDAY: APPLE CHEESECAKE MUFFINS

It's fall ya'll! And you know what that means...IT'S BAKING TIME! This time of year is our favorite and we'll tell you why: pumpkin spice, apple pie, cinnamon everything and yep that's right, delicious, warm MUFFINS. Check out our amazingly talented friend Kristie's recipe below and let us know what you think! Ps. You can find more delicious fall recipes at @thesweetandsimplekitchen on instagram. Happy baking! 

INGREDIENTS 

MUFFINS

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup dark brown sugar

⅔ cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp orange zest

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup grated apple

1 apple, thinly sliced into half moons

CREAM CHEESE FILLING

1/2 pckg cream cheese, at room temp

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 egg white

½ tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking powder

BROWN SUGAR CRUMBLE

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

1/4 cup cold butter, cubed 

HOMEMADE SALTED CARAMEL

** Note: This recipe makes about 1 cup of caramel – you will have extra

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 tbsp corn syrup

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup salted butter, cold & cut into 1 inch cubes

2/3 cup whipping cream

1 tsp sea salt (optional)

HOW TO MAKE 

CREAM CHEESE FILLING

In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth and creamy. Add in the egg white and vanilla; beat until smooth. Add in baking powder and mix until combined. Set aside. 

BROWN SUGAR CRUMBLE

Whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add cold butter, and work it in with your fingers until crumbly. Add in Pecans and work them in until crumbly. Set aside until ready to use.

SALTED CARAMEL

In a heavy bottomed saucepan add the sugar, corn syrup and the water. Stir to combine and set over medium high heat.

Bring to a rolling boil and allow it to bubble until the mixture reaches a light golden brown colour. Immediately remove from the heat and slowly pour the whipping cream into your caramelized sugar in a slow steady stream, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon as you pour it in.

Next add in your salt & butter and whisk until it has melted into the mixture.

MUFFINS

Preheat your oven to 400F degrees. Line a muffin tin with parchment liners. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda; Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and set aside.

In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla until combined. Next lowly pour in the melted butter and whisk to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients and use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together. Once the mixture is just starting to come together, add in the grated apple and mix gently to distribute, being careful not to over mix as this can lead to tough muffins. If you still have streaks of floury bits in your batter – this is the perfect consistency.

Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Use the back of the spoon to make a well with the center of each muffin cup. Drop 1 heaping tbsp of the prepared cream cheese filling into the well. Use a knife to swirl the cheesecake filling into the muffin batter a few times.

Take 3 slices of apple and fan them out on top of the cream cheese filling. Repeat with each muffin. Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with 1-2 tbsp of crumble. 

Place in the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes at 400F. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5-10 minutes before drizzling with homemade  salted caramel. 

Enjoy!

** Storage: I store my muffins at room temperature usually just with a tea towel covering them for up to 3 days. I like to warm them up in the oven for 5 minutes to freshen them up.