Apple Snickerdoodle Bran Muffins

These are quite possibly the best muffins I've ever made. On the first try too! Just nailed it. I love it when that happens.

Usually it takes some tinkering to get a recipe just right, but it must have been a lucky day for me because these apple snickerdoodle bran muffins turned out light, fluffy, soft and so moist, even well into the next day.

Snickerdoodles just might be very favorite type of cookie; I love their soft chewiness, and who can resist that sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top? So the idea of reinterpreting snickerdoodles in muffin form was something I had to try. I added apples for a nice Fall vibe and threw some bran into the mix to keep things at least slightly healthier than the cookie version. But with a cinnamon sugar swirled into the batter along with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top of each muffin, these muffins are unmistakably snickerdoodle-y.

Paired with a smear of butter, snacking on these muffins with a warm cup of coffee over the last couple of days has easily been the high point of my week.

Is that a teeny bit sad? I don't care.

makes 6 jumbo muffins or 12 regular muffins
Ingredients
for the cinnamon sugar:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

for the brown sugar swirl:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt

for the muffins:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup bran
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs, room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 medium apple, peeled, cored and diced

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and fill a muffin tin with paper liners. In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Set aside. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons flour 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.
2. For the muffins, combine flour, bran, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, milk and vanilla extract.
3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix until ingredients are well incorporated. Gradually add apples and brown sugar swirl mixture in a swirling motion througout batter.
4. Fill muffin cups until nearly full and sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 18-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean (jumbo muffins will take longer to bake compared to regular muffins).