Cinnamon Apple Muffins

These little babies from Andy and Carib Smallman are impossible to resist.

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Ingredients

Muffins:
3 Cups flour
1 Cup sugar
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. grated orange peel (fresh is best for this recipe)
1/4 tsp. GROUND NUTMEG
3/4 Cup cold butter or margarine
1-1 1/2 Cups grated apple (about 4 apples)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
2 6-oz. containers vanilla yogurt (or use plain yogurt and bump up the VANILLA to 1 tsp.)

Topping:
1/2 Cup butter or margarine, melted (1 stick)
1/3 Cup CINNAMON SUGAR (or 1⁄3 Cup sugar plus 1-2 tsp. VIETNAMESE CINNAMON)

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Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, orange peel and NUTMEG. Cut in the butter using 2 forks or your fingers. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, VANILLA and yogurt. Stir into the flour mixture. Add the apples and stir well. The batter will be very thick. Spray mini muffin pans well with non-stick cooking spray. Drop about 1 TB. of batter into each muffin cup. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. While the muffins bake, melt the butter for the topping in a bowl and set aside. Place the CINNAMON SUGAR in a second bowl. Remove the muffins from the pan and while still hot, roll in the melted butter and then in the CINNAMON SUGAR. Be careful to make it just a quick dip in the butter, the muffins will soak up a lot if given a chance and then you will end up melting more butter at then end! Place on a cooling rack.

Prep. time: 15 minutes plus 10 minutes post-cooking rolling
Baking time: 20-25 minutes
Yield: 60

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