Remember when I told you all about the 16 pounds of apples I brought home last weekend? I was so excited to start baking with them – I can’t even begin to tell you. Here’s the thing – it’s a lot harder to find good apple recipes than I expected… Sure, there are the old standbys – applesauce, apple butter, apple pie, crisps/cobblers/etc and even apple cakes/muffins – but I want to find something new and different. Last year I made apple cider donuts, which was both terrifying and really cool all at the same time. Oh, and did I mention delicious?! I’m still on the lookout for this year’s “it” recipe, and definitely open to any suggestions you might want to leave me in the comments 🙂
In the meantime, I came across this apple treat while scouring the internet for ideas. I don’t think I’ve ever had a drink with amaretto in it, but I pretty much can’t resist baking with it. Add some apples and streusel to the mix and I was sold! For me, these straddle the line between cupcakes and muffins. The recipe labels them cupcakes and they’re made using the cake method (butter and sugar creamed, eggs added then dry and liquid ingredients added alternately) but they don’t include the dollop of frosting you might expect on a cupcake, instead substituting just a bit of glaze. The texture also wasn’t quite as light and fluffy as I like in my cupcakes, but it wasn’t dense like a muffin either – somewhere in the middle. Both the apple and almond flavor are subtle but present. I’ll probably increase the amount of apples slightly next time and maybe add a tiny bit of almond extract or amaretto to the glaze. I enjoyed these best warmed just slightly and I would recommend not skipping the glaze – it’s easy to pull together and adds just the right finishing touch.
Amaretto Apple Streusel Cupcakes
from Cooking Light
Cupcakes
6.75 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons), softened
2 tablespoons amaretto
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup finely chopped Gala (or your favorite – I used Macintosh) apple
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 teaspoons 2% milk
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Prepare the streusel by combining the flour, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in 2 tablespoons butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal then stir in the almonds. (You could also do this in a mini prep, which I find easier, even if it means more dirty dishes.) Place the streusel in the fridge while you make the cupcake batter.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese and granulated sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Add the amaretto, vanilla extract and egg to the bowl and beat at medium speed until well blended. Combine the sour cream and milk in a measuring cup and whisk until completely blended. Alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream/milk combo to the mixer bowl, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating only until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
Toss the chopped apple pieces with 1 tablespoon of flour in a small bowl. Fold the apple mixture into the batter with a rubber spatula. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
Remove the streusel from the fridge and sprinkle evenly over the cupcakes. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes on a wire rack, then remove the cupcakes from pan to cool completely on the rack.
To prepare the glaze, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and milk in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cupcakes.
Makes 12 cupcakes
these look delicious! i love anything with amaretto! 😉
These look so good! Dessert or serving for brunch…will be making this and already saved to recipe file.
I love apples (who doesn’t?) and I’m also a fan of amaretto. Needless to say, these cupcakes excite me! They look beautiful, and I’m sure they tasted great too. I also want to make some of those cider donuts now too!
You said the magic word – Amaretto!!! I love it and must make these!!
Did you happen to get any honeycrisp apples? I just posted a recipe for Honeycrisp Apple and Vanilla Crumble – it has vanilla in the filling and crust. Yummy stuff. It was a big hit at a recent get-together.
🙂
ButterYum
http://butteryum.blogspot.com/2010/10/honeycrisp-apple-and-vanilla-crumble.html
@ButterYum – I didn’t pick up any Honeycrisps. In fact, if you can believe it, I’ve never had one. I’ve seen so many bloggers rave about them this year that I think I’m going to need to pick up a few next time I’m at the store. Thanks for the recipe link, it sounds delicious! 🙂
Amaretto! That sure has gotten my attention, and with apples too. Wow!
They not only look beautiful, but look oh, so yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Yum, these are alos gorgeous the tops are awesome
I love streusel-y anything. This looks delicious 🙂
Hi,
Every year I come home from apple picking with upwards of 30 lbs of apples so we’ve had an annual apple pie party. Here are the things we’ve made (I can get you recipes if any interest you). It’s a big of both sweet and savory.
Caramel apple cupcakes
Double crust apple pie
French apple pie
Apple Cream Pie
Caramelized Onion and Apple Toasts
(Awesome)
Apple-Green Chili Cups
Apple Honey Pasta
Apple, Bacon, Onion Pizza
Maple Oatmeal Apple Cookies
Apple Walnut Brie toasts
Apple Salsa (Outstanding)
Apple Cheddar Biscuits
-Jenny L.
What a great apple treat. I’ve got loads of apples this years from my trees and am looking for yummy recipes to use them up. After all, a girl can only eat so much apple sauce LOL.
*kisses* HH
These. Look. FAB!! Bookmarking, as usual 😉
Ps. Try apple fritters?? They aren’t exactly light, but delicious. Maybe your in-laws will love them…? If not, I’ll send over my address right away 😉
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@Jenny – Your apple party sounds like a blast! Thanks so much for the ideas – so many things sound good 🙂 I’d love to see the recipes for the (1) caramelized onion and apple toasts, (2) apple, bacon, onion pizza, (3) maple oatmeal apple cookies and (4) apple salsa. If it’s easier, feel free to email me at TraceysCulinaryAdventures@gmail.com. Thanks again!
These look soooo yummy! Wow! 🙂
What a beautiful apple muffin! I love the drizzle, that the recipe is light in calories and everything packed into this little muffin, YUM!
these look fantastic. I love the flavor of almond so would probably love these. Adding to my list – naturally!!
Hmmm, I’ve never tried baking with amaretto. Need to try asap! Cupcake or muffin, they both sound good to me. What a perfect autumn treat!
These look absolutely delicious!
These cupcakes look incredible! Perfect use for all of those apples… Now I want to go pick a few of my own 🙂
Tracey, your apple streusel cupcakes sound delicious! I love apples. My favorite apple last year was the Cameo. But I haven’t seen them in the stores yet. Good luck with your apple recipes. I look foward to seeing your creations!
Wow, Tracey! These are gorgeous!! I’ll be over soon to have one! 😉
Ohhh, these look so good.
These looks soooo wonderful.
these look fabulous! I absolutely love baking with amaretto–just last night I made some cookies with amaretto in them. Can’t wait to try these!
Wonderful post!!! Great Pics and congrats on making Foodbuzz Top 9!! That is totally cool!!!
yummy! i can’t wait to finish my cleanse so i can try these!
These look great! Thanks for sharing, will have to give them a go 🙂
These look great. I like that they don’t have too much butter. These are going on my to-bake list. Thanks Tracey.
oh those looks yummy! great way to use apples!
Hmmm – what a delicious flavor combination. Wish I could eat one right off the screen right now.