Apple Pie Muffins

If you're anything like me, and you love apple pie, you're going love these muffins! When I got up this morning and looked around the kitchen for something to make, I spotted a bag of apples I had purchased earlier in the week. Since baking a pie (and eating it) is a lot of work and kind of impractical for the two of us, I thought I could use them in muffins... breakfast muffins that would taste just like apple pie. I knew I could eat my fair share, but I wasn't sure my husband would, so I asked him. He said, "muffins with apples and oats, what am I, a pony?" I figured he wouldn't be too keen on the oats, but as soon as the muffins came out of the oven, he gobbled one up. If you aren't a huge fan of oats, just omit them and increase the flour to a half cup. They'll be just as good!

Apple Pie Muffins
Ingredients
2½ c. all-purpose flour
1½ c. brown sugar, packed
½ c. butter, room temperature
1 c. buttermilk (or 1 c. milk + 1 tbsp. lemon juice, sit for 10 min)
¼ c. plain applesauce
1 egg
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. apple pie or pumpkin pie spice
1½ c. Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced

Topping:
⅓ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. brown sugar, packed
¼ c. rolled oats
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with papers.
2. To make the batter, in a medium size mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and spices. Whisk together until incorporated, set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars. Add egg, applesauce, and vanilla, mix on low until combined. With mixer on low speed, alternate buttermilk and dry ingredients, adding about ⅓ of each mixture at a time, until remaining ingredients are gone. Remove bowl from stand and fold in apples. Scoop mixture in to prepared muffin tin (fill just a tad bit over ¾ of the way).
4. To prepare the topping, in a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix until clumps begin to form. Sprinkle over each individual muffin. Place in oven and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The muffins should have a little spring to them and the topping should be golden brown and crunchy.
5. Remove and let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Adapted from Sprinkled with Flour- Apple Pie Streusel Muffins | Makes approximately 18 muffins