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Dessert

Hidden Apple Butter Muffins

A muffin made with apple butter, flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon, baking powder, eggs, vinegar, baking soda, milk, topped with apple butter and streusel.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and apple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,598 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓

Hidden Apple Butter Muffins

Oven400°F
Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

  2. Grease a muffin tin or tins.

  3. In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon to a coarse meal or streusel-like crumb.

  4. Measure out 1 cup of the crumbs and set it aside for the topping.

Make the batter

  1. Stir the baking powder into the remaining mixture.

  2. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff but still glossy.

  3. Combine the vinegar and baking soda.

  4. When the bubbles settle down, stir in the egg yolks and milk.

  5. Pour this liquid and the beaten egg whites over the dry ingredients and immediately combine the batter with a 15-second stirring and folding.

  6. Do not expect a smooth, thoroughly moistened dough; there will be lumps of flour and slicks of egg white showing.

  7. Quickly spoon the mixture into the tins.

Bake and serve

  1. Place a tablespoon of apple butter in the center of each muffin, then divide and sprinkle the reserved streusel crumbs over the top.

  2. Bake for 20 minutes.

  3. Cook for 5 minutes before turning out of tins.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

937Calories
28 gProtein
26 gFat
147 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Apple1 medium (182g)95
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cinnamon + appletop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,598 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Cinnamon + milktop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together30,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

All purpose flour
Provides the structure that holds the muffin crumb together as it bakes.
Eggs
Egg whites add lift and structure, while yolks add richness and help bind the batter.
Baking soda
Reacts with the apple cider vinegar to release gas, helping the muffins rise.
Baking powder
Adds extra leavening so the muffins rise in the oven.
Butter
Adds fat for tenderness and flavor in the crumb and streusel.
Apple butter
Adds concentrated apple sweetness and moisture at the center of each muffin.

The step that matters

Combining the batter. Stirring for only about 15 seconds keeps the batter from being overmixed. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which makes muffins tough. The lumps are expected, and the rising gas from the vinegar and baking soda is released quickly, so the batter should go into the tins without delay.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon, egg, apple cider vinegar, milk):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits about as well
  3. Applethe original
  4. Peachfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon, egg, apple cider vinegar, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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