Good help was easy to find this time.

This year our fruit trees have had an interesting season so far... Our peach tree had so much trauma I'm sending it to therapy.... Our pear tree provided lots of pears for us, our friends, then a huge storm came through and shook all the rest of the pears off the tree and they were on the grass. Our apples are going gang busters... bug lots have bugs and our baking apples are either really green or barely blushing. I decided to try to usher in some fall weather with the baking apples. Picked a few to make some muffins. Thankfully I have a great helper whose main interest is muffins, but hey, he CAN be bought! With muffins! So he helped me peel and chop them. This muffin recipe is great - easy and they are delicious! I don't keep buttermilk on hand, so instead I use whatever milk I have with a splash of lemon juice - works for me! These muffins were a hit. We baked them on Saturday morning, I was thinking for Sunday breakfast but it's hard to hold the family at bay with warm delicious muffins! So we all enjoyed some for lunch. We have a LOT more apples on that tree, I'm sure we'll be doing more baking this fall. Especially since the weather finally cooled off enough to open some windows! Phew!! Give the A/C and our pocketbooks a break!

Apple Cinnamon Muffin
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
¾ cup buttermilk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups diced apples, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
½ Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp granulated sugar

Dice about 1 & ½ apples into ½ inch chunks. You want 2 cups diced apples. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a spoon to combine and set aside.
In a larger mixing bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine with a fork or spatula.
Gradually mix in the dry ingredients and the apple chunks, mixing just until combined. The batter will be very thick!
Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 425ºF.
For bakery style muffin tops, line a 12 count muffin pan with 6 muffins liners, meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter. Filling every other well allows the muffins to spread and dome without running into each other. Fill the liners to the top with batter. Yes – to the top! Use a butter knife to smooth the tops of the muffins if lumpy.
Bake for 7 minutes at 425ºF, then keep the muffins in the oven, and turn the temperature down to 350ºF and bake for 16-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing. Repeat with the remaining batter, making sure to bump the temperature back up to 425ºF.
Once the muffins are cool, assemble the cinnamon sugar topping. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Use a pastry brush to brush the melted butter on top of the muffins. Roll the top of each muffin in a bowl of cinnamon sugar.