whole wheat apple muffins with walnut streusel

tis' the season for fall baking! there's nothing i love more then spending time in the kitchen during the fall baking up lots of goodies from a fruitful harvest. and, as a innkeeper, i'm always looking for recipes that are simple, don't require a noisy mixer (guest typically don't like to wake up to the sounds of an electric mixer) and are packed with flavor!

after tweaking a recipe i found a while back, these muffins have a great balance of crunchy (walnut topping) and moist (sour cream - i add it to almost all of my muffin and quick bread recipes - my little secret).

so grab some apples and a whisk (and of course the other items listed below) and lets get baking!

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the muffins…

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

• 1/3 cup sour cream

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tsp good vanilla

• 2 cups diced apple (peeled and cored) ... i prefer granny smith

For the walnut streusel topping…

• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners, in my case, i used 5 inch squares cut from parchment paper for a unique look.

Next, mix up your streusel. In a small bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Using a fork (or your hands), cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a course crumble. Stir in the chopped nuts and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the AP flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the medium bowl, whisk the milk, sugars, sour cream, oil, eggs and vanilla.

Gently fold in flour mixture, stirring just until just combined, then fold in apples.

Divide the batter between twelve muffin tins filling each muffin tin to the top. (oh, and just so you know the batter is almost as tasty as the muffins!)

Sprinkle the streusel topping over each muffin.

Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350F and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

tada! yummyness in a paper lining! fall flavors at their best. these muffins will not disappoint!

for more recipes and other inspired ideas feel free to drop on by my blog, inspired by charm, anytime.

so, what are some of your favorite fall flavors? what recipes are you baking at home this season?