Do you ever have those weeks where it seems like everything is going wrong? It’s never anything particularly big, but instead you just have to drudge through what seems like endless days of little things going wrong. That was last week for me.

Maybe you have a hive of wasps outside of your house, or maybe your washing machine broke, or maybe the infection you thought you’d be able to fight off on your own got worse so now you’ve got to take antibiotics, or maybe you got your first ever speeding ticket  (this might be a test to see if my mom even reads my blog), but whatever it is these little things all keep adding up. Suddenly it seems like everything that can go wrong will go wrong. That was last week for me.

By Friday I’d pretty much resigned myself to not touching anything sharp or breakable because I’d end up injured or something would end up shattered.  Thankfully I was able to take some time last weekend and really embrace fall cooking, even if it was 75-80 degrees outside and I broke out one of my favorite old recipes.

This recipe was on my old blog, but it comes from a friend that I interned with at America’s Test Kitchen.  As interns we were tasked with the project of making a muffin recipe and writing a story about it in the style of a Cook’s Illustrated article. Some of the recipes turned out well, while mine and some others weren’t that great. But these Apple Cider Donut Muffins had everyone (including the test cooks) asking for the recipe.

These muffins hit the spot when it comes to fall food. They’ll transport you back to the first time you went apple picking and had a freshly fried apple cider donut, but you don’t have to worry about dealing with hot oil (which is a perk for someone as accident prone as me).

Sure, these muffins may take more effort than other muffin recipes out there, but trust me, these are worth it. They’re slightly crispy from the cinnamon sugar dip at the end with a tender crumb that’s bursting with cinnamon apple goodness. If I wasn’t so lazy I’d probably make these every week to have on hand. I’d also probably weigh 15 pounds more than I do now thanks to that–so maybe it’s not such a bad thing.

Make these this weekend, I promise you won’t regret it.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 medium Fuji Apples

8 tablespoons butter

1 2/3 cup flour

2/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons apple cider

¼ cup applesauce

1 Egg

6 tablespoons buttermilk

Topping:

4 tablespoons melted butter

1/3 cup sugar

¼ Teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Using a 12-inch skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons butter over medium heat.

Combine 1 teaspoon sugar with apple pieces and add to skillet.  Cook over medium heat about 7 minutes until golden brown.  They should be partially caramelized.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool in a small bowl.

Using a small bowl, melt 6 Tablespoons of butter for 30-45 seconds in the microwave, set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, applesauce, apple juice, and caramelized apples.

Stir buttermilk into melted butter and add to wet ingredients.

Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined.  Batter should be lumpy.

Grease or spray a 12-cup muffin pan.  Spoon batter evenly into muffin pan and place into oven.  Bake for 15-20 minutes making sure to rotate pan halfway through bake time.

While the muffins are baking, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter in a small bowl and set aside to cool.

In another small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.  When muffins are done, gently remove from pan and let cool about 5 minutes.  After cooling, dip the muffins top side down into the melted butter and then into the sugar and cinnamon mix.   Serve warm.

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Using a 12-inch skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons butter over medium heat.  Combine 1 teaspoon sugar with apple pieces and add to skillet.  Cook over medium heat about 7 minutes until golden brown.  They should be partially caramelized.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool in a small bowl. 

 

Using a small bowl, melt 6 Tablespoons of butter for 30-45 seconds in the microwave, set aside to cool.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, applesauce, apple juice, and caramelized apples.  Stir buttermilk into melted butter and add to wet ingredients.  Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined.  Batter should be lumpy.

 

Grease or spray a 12-cup muffin pan.  Spoon batter evenly into muffin pan and place into oven.  Bake for 15-20 minutes making sure to rotate pan halfway through bake time. 

 

While the muffins are baking, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter in a small bowl and set aside to cool.  In another small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.  When muffins are done, gently remove from pan and let cool about 5 minutes.  After cooling, dip the muffins top side down into the melted butter and then into the sugar and cinnamon mix.   Serve warm.