These muffins are a rich, buttery delight! With the optional addition of browned butter and a demerara sugar sprinkled top, there’s really no one who could be disappointed with these muffins. They are suitable as a breakfast or brunch item, but good enough to be a cupcake to!

I know how hard it is to work from a recipe on a phone or laptop, so I made you a cute free printable, too. You can download and print instantly, just Click below:

A couple quick notes on baking before we get started:
I use demerara sugar, it’s raw and has a rich rustic texture. If you can’t get it at your local grocery store, it’s easily ordered online. Using demerara sugar in baking gives my baked goods and extra layer of flavor and a rustic texture. You can substitute regular sugar and the recipe will still be good (the batter will be smoother), but try out demerara and I think you’ll love it!
As with all my baking, I suggest using the the best quality ingredients you can, such as Bob’s Red Mill Flour and Kerrygold Butter. Of course, any flour will work, but using a top quality brand will really make your baked goods shine!
Ok, let’s get baking!
Ingredients you will need:
2 C. cups all purpose flour ( I like Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Flour)
1 C. Demerara Sugar, plus more for sprinkling (substitute: regular sugar)
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla (I use Watkins Vanilla)
1 C. Whole milk
Instructions for Mixing:
Mix together all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Add in all the wet ingredients, and beat with a whisk until the batter is smooth. If desired, you can brown the butter before adding (I recommend) for an even richer flavor.
Peel and small dice one apple, and mix it into the batter with a spoon.
Spoon the batter into a VERY generously buttered muffin tin, or line the muffin tin with paper cups. Fill each muffin cup until it is about 2/3 full of batter (otherwise it will puff over the top!). Sprinkle the extra Demerara Sugar over the top to make an extra yummy sugar glaze on top!
Bake in a 350° preheated oven for about 30 minutes. This recipe makes one dozen muffins. I highly recommend serving these with my Easy Whipped Mascarpone Icing!

Serving Suggestions:
Honestly, I developed this delightful recipe specifically because I wanted something that was the perfect match for my Easy Whipped Mascarpone Icing. It’s not-to-sweet, and though it’s quite rich, it does not have the heavy quality of a Buttercream Icing. If you haven’t made a whipped mascarpone Icing before, it’s just about the easiest thing in the world, but the results are NEXT LEVEL yum! Try it, you’ll thank me!

And that about wraps it up, folks. I hope you really enjoy these! My husband Ray, who is not a “cake” person, said “oh, wow!” when he bit into these. Let me now what you think of them, and happy baking!
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