Apple Pie Streusel Muffins

We went apple picking yesterday and came home with a giant bag of apples. You can expect many apple recipes to come as we try to work our way through these apples. The only problem is, I like apples, but I'm not a huge fan. Any bets on how long it takes before I cave and turn them all into applesauce for baking later?

The apple muffins turned out surprisingly well. They're light and moist with a rich cinnamon and nutmeg flavour. I followed the recipe exactly (except for adding 1 tsp vanilla which was mentioned in the directions but not the ingredient list and substituting pecans for walnuts) despite a few misgivings while mixing and was rewarded with 12 very large and tall muffins.

One year ago: Veal and Tomato Ragout with Potatoes, Cinnamon, and Cream

Apple Pie Streusel Muffins (from Sprinkled with Flour)

Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons low fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 cups shredded or diced apple (peeled and cored)
Streusel:
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2-3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. For the Streusel: In a small bowl combine the 1/4 brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Using a fork cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped nuts, set aside.
3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the milk, sugars, yogurt, oil, eggs, vanilla,baking powder, salt and baking soda. (If you don't have a mixer, you don't really need it for this recipe!)
5. Fold in flour, stirring just until incorporated. Gently fold in the apples.
6. Divide the batter between 12 muffin tins, making sure each one is filled to the top.
7. Sprinkle the streusel topping over each muffin.
8. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375F and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.