Farm Fresh Feasts: Apple Butter Muffin Tops for #MuffinMonday

Sweetened with apple butter, chewy from steel cut oats, and studded with chunks of apples, these make ahead delights are a quick breakfast, afternoon, or bedtime snack. No muffin pan? No problem!

photo of apple butter muffin top cookies with apples and jars of jam

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Ever look at something familiar with fresh eyes and see it in a whole new way? That happened to me with this recipe. Each month I join the Muffin Monday bakers to bring you an original recipe using seasonal ingredients. When I saw Karen's Blueberry Muffin Top recipe, that she comprehensively baked on a cookie sheet in addition to her muffin top pan, I started thinking . . .

Why do I have to bake my muffins in a muffin pan?

What if I make a muffin batter and just scoop it out onto a cookie sheet?

I did it. The world did not end.

image of a stack of apple butter muffin top cookies

Since I cook and bake using the ingredients from my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, I've got local apples and my "cook's portion" of Slow Cooker Apple Butter in the fridge. I decided to #usethedamnjamalready and make an apple butter flavored muffin top with chopped apples for grins and giggles. For more grins and giggles, turn up the volume and check out the outtakes from the Facebook teaser video!

We ate these for breakfast. I took some (batter) to work and baked it there to share warm muffins with my coworkers. The kids grabbed some as after school snacks. And, when I picked up my girl after a busy Black Friday weekend closing shift at a local fabric and craft store, she ate these along with a glass of milk on the ride home. These muffin tops are a good way to nurture through food.

pic of apple butter muffin top cookies with jars of jam and apple butter

For more recipes using apples, apple butter, or apple cider please see my Apple Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

I'm sharing more recipes on my Pinterest boards, follow me there. If you like a good peek behind the scenes like I do, follow me on Instagram. Need a good read? I'm sharing articles of interest on my Facebook page, follow me there. Want to know How to Use This Blog?

collage of photos showing the steps to make apple butter muffin top cookie treats

For my 2nd batch I ran out of the Cook's Portion of apple butter and used half apple butter and half peach jam.

Note: I store the oat/buttermilk mixture in wide mouth pint jars in the fridge. I make up several jars at a time and use them throughout the week. After baking, it's important to cool these off the parchment paper, otherwise the bottoms will be rubbery. Still edible, of course, but the texture is much better if you transfer to a cooling rack as instructed.

photo of a stack of apple butter muffin cookie treats

Apple Butter Muffin Tops
By Kirsten Madaus

Sweetened with apple butter, chewy from steel cut oats, and studded with chunks of apples, these make ahead delights are a quick breakfast, afternoon, or bedtime snack. No muffin pan? No problem!

Prep time: 01:05
Cook time: 00:15
Total time: 01:20

Yield: 15 muffin tops

Ingredients:
1 cup steel cut oats
½ cup (4 ounces) buttermilk
½ cup apple butter
¼ cup (2 ounces) cooking oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (4¼ ounces by weight) unbleached all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon dry malt powder (optional)
1 cup finely chopped apples, with peel

Instructions:

At least 1 hour before baking (or up to several days before) combine oats and buttermilk.

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (yes, this is necessary, trust me).

In a large bowl, add the apple butter, cooking oil, egg and vanilla to the soaked oats. Mix well.

Dump the dry ingredients (everything else except the apples) on top and stir a couple of times. Add the apples and stir until just combined.

Scoop (using a large (3 Tablespoon) scoop onto prepared sheet, spacing 3-4 inches apart as these will spread.

Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on the sheet for 3 minutes, then--and this is important--remove from parchment and cool on a rack.

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

Here's what we're baking up today!