Here's the first apple recipe from the apples I brought home from our apple picking day. Annie from Annie's Eats made these and took such gorgeous photos of them.
I served these at small group last night and they were a hit. I misjudged my timing in making these. At 4pm, I had an appointment at the gym, then small group started at 6:30pm. However, I started these at 2pm, then realized I forgot to pick up eggs. Ben, the lovely husband he is, ran out quickly to buy me eggs...so then I didn't start them until 2:30pm! The baking time is about 18 minutes, then have to cool. So, I baked the cupcakes, sauteed the apples and made the frosting by 3:40pm (while also making dinner...another post soon to come) and literally RAN out the door in order to be on time for my 4pm appointment! When I got home, the cupcakes and apples were cool enough to assemble and then I was left with 10 minutes to eat dinner before our guests arrived! Phew! (Katie - is this what it feels like to be a Hyper Homemaker!?) 🙂
I took the leftovers to work today, and again, they were a hit. I'll definitely make them again. They are very easy and great for the fall!
Apple Pie Cupcakes (Source: Annie's Eats, originally from Fatty Fat Fats)
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
For the apple filling:
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. cinnamon
2-3 tbsp. sugar
3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
For decorating:
vanilla buttercream (see below)
Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°.Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.Add the vanilla extract and mix well to combine.Add in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.Stir until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling them about ⅔-3/4 full.Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes.Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pans.Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
To make the apple filling, heat the butter a medium skillet over medium-high heat.Add the cinnamon and sugar and cook for a minute, until the mixture begins to bubble.Lower the heat to medium and stir in the apples.Mix well.Cook until the apples are somewhat tender, about 10 minutes.Remove from heat and let cool.
While the apple mixture is cooling, use the cone method to remove a chunk from the center of each cupcake, making sure to leave a rim around the top of the cupcake.Fill the holes with the cooled apple mixture.To decorate, top each cupcake with a swirl of vanilla buttercream.
Easy Vanilla Buttercream (Source: Annie's Eats, originally from Cook's Illustrated)
Ingredients:
20 tbsp. (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
⅛ tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. heavy cream
Directions:
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds.Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds.Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds.Scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds.Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.
