Variation on Glazed Doughnut Muffins

A couple weeks back I posted in one of my friday posts how I absolutely wanted to try and make these. Well I did make them, following exactly along with recipe. They were delicious. But all I could think about was that they should have apples in them. I kept thinking of apple fritters. So ..  I changed up the recipe and added apples. I actually tried them two ways, one with the filling just in the center and the other with the apples through out the entire muffin. Our favorite; through out the entire muffin.

Glazed Doughnut Muffins
Yields 1-2 dozen

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp buttermilk
10 Tbsp butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Apple Filling:
3 medium Apples, peeled, cored and cut into small cubes  (I used honeycrisps)
1/2 Cup Sugar
3-4 TBS flour
1 tsp cinnamon


Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and buttermilk, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, using and electric hand mixer on medium speed, blend together butter and sugar until well combine, about 30 seconds. Mix in eggs one at a time mixing after each addiction. Blend in vanilla. Using a wooden spoon to mix, add flour mixture in three separate batches, alternating with two additions of the milk mixture, mixing just until combine after each addition (batter will be thick). 

Peel, core and dice 3 medium apples. Add sugar, flour and cinnamon and heat over medium heat until apples begin to soften.

-Now it's a chose your own adventure-

Adventure A:

Fill paper lined muffin cups roughly half way with batter, and place a spoonful of apple filling in the center of each cup. Continue filling the cups with the remaining batter until nearly full.

Adventure B:

Fold the apple filling into the batter.

Divide batter among 12* paper lined muffin cups (in a non-stick muffin tin) filling each one nearly full (about 1/3 cup batter per each).  

Bake in preheated oven 15 - 20** minutes until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. 

During the last few minutes of cooling prepare glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Dip each muffin in glaze, while twirling and rotating to evenly coat tops (and allowing it a few seconds to get a good layer of coating on), then lift and allow excess glaze to run off. Enjoy warm or allow cupcakes to rest at room temperature about 5- 10 minutes until glaze has set. 

Store in an airtight container.


* Each time I made the recipe, even filling them quite full, I got 16 muffins

** I baked mine for 15 minutes, and they probably could have even been baked a little less. Next time I'm going to start checking them at 13 minutes.