I’m really excited about this recipe. It’s perfect for this time of year, and really any time of year actually. But these definitely do remind me of fall, when the leaves are changing and the sweaters and boots come out.
I got a frantic call from a devoted mom trying to pull off the perfect autumn themed bake sale. She was planning to have warm cider and spiced apple cider donuts, but couldn’t source the perfect donuts anywhere. She had 2 days until the event when she called me. I told her there was no way I could pull off making 100 fresh donuts, but how about muffins? Perfect-muffins will be great! The only problem was I had never made apple cider muffins. I scoured the internet for a recipe and came across this one from New England Today’s Food section. It sounded like a winner. With a few tweaks I adapted the recipe to be dairy-free, perfect for my needs. These muffins promised to be better the next day and they sure do deliver!
- 2 cups sweet apple cider, reduced to 1 cup
- ¼ cup oil
- ¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup margarine (I like Earth Balance)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 Tbs. cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- Measure the apple cider and pour into small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the cider is reduced to 1 cup. Allow to cool. This can be done in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Spray regular or mini muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the oil, apple sauce, and sugar until blended.
- Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until blended.
- Add in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, fresh nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients to combine.
- With the mixer running on low add the dry ingredients to the mixer alternating with the reduced and cooled apple cider, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Once the batter comes together, spoon the batter into prepared muffin pan. I like to fill mine half way (for 18 regular muffins) but you can go ¾ of the way up for a larger muffin (12 regular muffins). You can also make minis, just reduce the baking time.
- Bake for about 15 minutes until the muffins spring back to the touch. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before adding the topping.
- In small bowl melt the margarine. In a second bowl combine the sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Once the muffins are cool enough to handle, brush the muffins with the melted margarine on all sides, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar.
- Store in an airtight container. They are perfect right away but are even better the next day.