Spiced Apple Muffins with Honey Butter

These delicious muffins are the perfect treat anytime, from a cozy weekend breakfast or afternoon coffee to an on-the-go snack, and they come together in a snap using a Vitamix blender. The honey butter will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.

 

Spiced Apple Muffins with Honey Butter

 

For the streusel:

1/4 cup (1 1/2 oz./45 g) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (2 oz./60 g) sugar

Pinch of kosher salt

1/2 cup (2 oz./60 g) toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

 

For the honey butter:

16 Tbs. (2 sticks) (8 oz./250 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 (3 oz./90 g) honey

1 tsp. flaky sea salt

 

For the muffins:

10 Tbs. (5 oz./155 g) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing

2 cups (10 oz./315 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground allspice

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 apple, cored and quartered

1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) buttermilk

3/4 cup (6 oz./185 g) sugar

1 egg

 

To make the streusel, in a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt, then add the pecans. Drizzle in the melted butter and stir until well incorporated. The streusel should be clumpy. Freeze for at least 10 minutes before using.

 

To make the honey butter, in a Vitamix blender, combine the butter, honey and salt. With the speed on 4, blend until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, using the tamper as needed to push down the ingredients. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

 

Preheat an oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease and flour 12 standard muffin cups or line with paper liners.

 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

 

In the blender, combine the apple, melted butter, buttermilk and sugar. Blend, starting at 1 and slowly working up to 10, until the apple is pureed and the mixture is well combined, 2 to 3 minutes. It’s okay if there are a few lumps of apple.

 

Add the egg and blend, starting at 1 and slowly working up to 10, until combined, 15 to 20 seconds. Add the apple mixture to the flour mixture and gently stir until fully combined. Let the batter rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups and crumble the frozen streusel on top.

 

Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto the rack and let cool completely. Serve the muffins with the honey butter. Makes 12 muffins.

 

 

Find this and more than 30 recipes for using your Vitamix blender to prepare any meal of the day in The Perfect Blending Cookbook, by the cooks of Williams-Sonoma’s Test Kitchen.