Happy Fall, party people! I am excited to kick off my favorite season with these fragrant Apple Cinnamon Hazelnut Buttermilk Muffins. These muffins are perfect for breakfast or as a snack with late afternoon coffee or tea. In addition, they bring seasonal flavor to your fall brunch table. Buttermilk adds a lively tang to the flavor. And, of course, apples and cinnamon bring thoughts of crunchy, gorgeous colored leaves and crisp autumn air.
I found this Apple Cinnamon Hazelnut Buttermilk Muffins idea in a German Food Magazine. However, I amped up the recipe with extra cinnamon in the batter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar over the top. Best of all, this recipe does not require a mixer. Just mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, then fold in the apples and hazelnuts. As a side note, we have hazelnut and apple trees on the property here in Germany. However, I could not wait until they ripened to make this recipe. However, these were such a huge hit with the family, it’s good to know I will have plenty to work with when I inevitably make them again.
Let’s get to the recipe:
So, to make these Apple Cinnamon Hazelnut Buttermilk Muffins, firstly, cut up two medium-sized apples into very small pieces. Leave the peel on, but make sure you wash them well. Go ahead and toss them with freshly-squeezed lemon juice so they don’t brown while you are preparing the rest. Then chop the hazelnuts into pieces. Whenever I do this, it’s like a kitchen comedy routine. Becasue they are round, they always fly all over the place when I am trying to chop them. So this time, I threw them into a mini food processor. Using the pulse feature, it took only minutes to break them into pieces. The bonus was that I wasn’t searching all over the kitchen floor for errant hazelnuts.
Secondly, for these Apple Cinnamon Hazelnut Buttermilk Muffins, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Thirdly, in a second bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, an egg, sugar, vegetable oil (I used canola), and pure vanilla extract. Combine the two mixtures and transfer to a greased and floured muffin tin.
Finally, sprinkle some additional chopped hazelnuts and cinnamon sugar on top. By the way, cinnamon sugar is easy to make at home, so don’t spend the money to buy it separately in the supermarket. Just mix sugar with cinnamon. That’s it. Also, making it at home means you control how strong the flavor is. Just moderate the amount of ground cinnamon.
So go forth and make these Apple Cinnamon Hazelnut Buttermilk Muffins to jump-start your fall baking.
Apple Cinnamon Hazelnut Buttermilk Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized apples
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar*
Instructions
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Quarter, core, and dice the apples.
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Toss with the lemon juice and set aside.
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Roughly chop the hazelnuts.
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Grease and flour a muffin pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F
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Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
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Separately whisk the egg, sugar, oil, vanilla, and buttermilk until combined.
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Add the flour mixture. Fold in the diced apples and half of the hazelnuts.
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Transfer the batter into the muffin tins. Arrange the remaining hazelnuts on top.
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Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.
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Bake 25 minutes until golden brown or until a knife or tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
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Let cool, then de-pan and serve warm.
Recipe Notes
*Make your own by whisking together 1/4 cup white granulated sugar with1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
So, do you like these Apple Cinnamon Hazelnut Buttermilk Muffins? Then also check out some of these other delicious recipes:
SWEET POTATO BACON CRANBERRY MUFFINS
RHUBARB MARZIPAN STREUSEL MUFFINS
BACON EGG BREAKFAST MUFFINS
