Peet's Coffee and Apple Fritter Muffins

What could be better than a hot homemade apple fritter for breakfast? How about a hot homemade apple fritter muffin that is baked, not fried, with a mug of Peet's Coffee's new Cafe Solano medium roast coffee? Sounds pretty good, right? As a Foodbuzz Tastemaker I was lucky enough to be sent free samples of Peet's Coffee's new medium roast blends! As a coffee enthusiast I could not have been happier! I'm not one to endorse a product that I don't love, but Peet's Coffee has been around for so long that I was psyched to try their new roasts and post a recipe to accompany one of them!

I was sent a sample of their brand new Cafe Solano and Cafe Domingo medium roast coffees; each one has a unique flavor. Cafe Solano has floral and fruit undertones while Cafe Domingo has toffee undertones and a clean, crisp finish. Pressing the coffee was the first step to brew the best cup possible, and it really allowed the different coffees to shine. My hands down favorite was the Cafe Solano blend for its floral fruity hints that I knew would go so great with an apple-flavored dessert.

These apple fritter muffins are amazing straight out of the oven, hot and glazed. I made these extra-tiny, but you could absolutely use regular muffin cups. Cinnamon apples get suspened in a moist cinnamon-vanilla batter making the muffins super moist and tasty. I love that they're double-glazed, and the sweet contrast to the robust flavor of Peet's Coffees is a total win!

Apple Fritter Muffins

For the apples:

2 large Jonah Gold apples, 1/4 inch dice
3 tbl salted  butter
2 tbl sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbl water

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Heat the apples, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and water over medium heat until softened, about 6 minutes. Toss with the flour and let cool while you prepare the batter.

For the muffins:

1 cup milk

2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbl ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line 14 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together the milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. In a seperate bowl whisk together the sugars, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Mix until combined and only small lumps remain (do not overmix).

Gently fold in the apples. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to glaze.

For the glaze:

2 tbl salted butter, melted
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbl water

Whisk together all ingredients. Dip or brush each muffin with glaze and let harden slightly. Dip or brush a second time. Serve hot.

Recipe adapted from Chasing Some Blue Sky.