Works for Me Wednesday: Love Muffins

I like sleeping.

I like it a lot. I like it so much, in fact, that I do everything humanly possible to squeeze in a few more minutes of undercover time each morning—the coffee’s on a timer, my bag is packed and waiting by the door. Though usually I leave myself some wiggle room, if I do it right I can get from bed to bus in fifteen minutes.

The one factor that kept tripping me up, though, was breakfast. I like eating maybe even more than I like sleeping, and I don’t mind doing it on the go, but breakfast in bar form tends to depress me, and cereal at my desk gets old really fast. Eggs take too long. Oatmeal doesn’t travel. I wanted something homemade—that I wouldn’t actually have to make every day.

GUYS. These MUFFINS.

My luck with muffins hasn’t been great in the past (my last attempt, an ostensibly foolproof chocolate peanut butter endeavor, came out so dry I literally choked on one of them). But this pumpkin-apple-streusel number from AllRecipes, in addition to being crazy easy to make, is delicious. Crispy on the top, soft on the inside, sweet but not cupcake-y. And there’s fruit in them! Two kinds, if pumpkin counts!

Does pumpkin count?

Anyway, the point is, I halved this recipe when I first tried it, which I immediately regretted because they came out so well and are perfect for freezing. I just take ‘em out one by one and let them thaw on the counter overnight, then grab and go come morning.

And that works for me.

 

Pumpkin Apple Muffins with Streusel Topping

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups finely chopped peeled apples

 

TOPPING:

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

 

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Combine eggs, pumpkin and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. For topping, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle 1 teaspoon over each muffin. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.