Monday, October 1, 2012

Magic Muffins

Here at Mystery Lovers Kitchen, we've been very busy planning for fall and the holidays. You may have noticed that Lucy Burdette has moved from Saturdays to Thursdays. Not to worry, Annie Knox will continue to post on the first Thursday of every month.

But that's not all! We're having some special theme weeks. First up is Apple Week, with not one, but two apple pie recipes! Look for them starting October 7th.


Of course, we would never skip Halloween. Halloween week begins October 24th with fun recipes that might just be a little bit ghoulish or creepy. And some of us will post about spooky experiences that week, too!

We're also doing a Thanksgiving week and a Christmas week -- early enough for you to shop and prepare. We hope you'll join us for the fun!

Mini Autumn Spice Cupcakes
A couple of weekends ago, some of my friends came for a cupcake tasting. Most of the recipes, like Strawberry Cupcakes, Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, and Coco Loco Cupcakes (Natasha's creation) will be in The Diva Frosts a Cupcake. But they also tried the Autumn Spice Cupcakes that I previously posted.

Mini Magic Muffins
They were such a hit that I wondered if I could make them as muffins. They would be so lovely for brunch or a special breakfast. So I gave it a shot. I kept all the flavor of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, but simplified the process so they're quick and easy to bake in the morning.

Has anyone else noticed how popular mini cupcakes have become? Everyone loves them. If you're planning a party, minis are the way to go!

I dipped the tops in sugar for a little sparkle. What is it about sparkle that makes me feel like something magical is going on? I decided to call them Magic Muffins -- what a way to start a day!


Magic Muffins
(Autumn Spice)


Makes 12 – 16 regular muffins or 24 mini-muffins.

½ cup butter

1 1/2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves

2 eggs
1 cup applesauce

Topping (optional)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350. Melt the 1/2 cup butter, and set it aside to cool. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl -- flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir with a fork to mix completely. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the applesauce and whisk. Add the melted butter and whisk until completely combined.

Pour the liquids over the dry ingredients. Using a large spoon or a spatula, stir or fold until just combined. Do not over-mix!

Spoon into the cupcake liners, filling almost to the top. Bake 15 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Topping

Melt the 1/4 cup butter in a small bowl.
Pour the 1/4 cup sugar into another small bowl. Add the cinnamon and combine.

When the cupcakes come out of the oven and are still warm, dip the tops into the butter, then dip into the sugar-cinnamon mixture.





10 comments:

  1. Yummy! (I notice you sneaked a little apple in there.)

    I've got vintage muffin tins in a wonderful array of sizes and shapes (except the monster size--enough is enough), including square. I'm ready!

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    1. Sheila, the applesauce keeps them moist. It cuts back on the fat, too. But all the yummy flavor comes through nice and strong!

      ~ Krista

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  2. These look good. Do you know why some of the posts have been messed up? Paige Shelton's yesterday was not there. This happened once before about a week ago.

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    1. Anonymous and anyone else who had this problem -- were you using IE (Explorer)? As far as we can tell, that seems to be the consistent item. People viewing with Safari and Firefox have had no problems. A quick Google search has not yielded any indication that there's a problem with Blogger and Explorer. However, I heard about 10 days ago that Explorer had been seriously hacked and they were recommending that people use a different program until a fix was online and downloaded onto their computers.

      Any information from those of you who are having problems viewing the blog would be most welcome. We'd like to straighten this out.

      ~ Krista

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  3. Krista, these look soooo good, I'd really love one right now with my second cup of coffee! And I also want to be invited to the next cupcake tasting:) xo Lucy

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    1. LOL! I would love to invite you to the next cupcake tasting. Now that the book is done, the next tasting might be cookies or chocolate recipes. Would that work for you?

      ~ Krista

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  4. These look delicious, and I wish I had one right now!

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    1. We really ought to have a Jetsons-style ordering device that can cyber-send food! You would just open your computer screen and there it would be!

      ~ Krista

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  5. Krista, these look yummy. I love the crystalized sugar on the tops. So pretty and simple.

    And how did you make that icing for one of your photos? It looks like whipped ice cream on top! YUM.

    ~Daryl aka Avery

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    1. Daryl, that was the Caramel Frosting. If you click the link it will take you there. I just piped it with a round hole frosting tip. Those were very popular with my tasters.

      ~ Krista

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