oh my, these are already gone. yep, they've been out of the oven for less than 20 minutes, and we've each eaten 4. i have to say, this is the best (and easiest) apple dessert i've ever made. or, should i say, lillie's ever made either. she did it all, except for the parts that need a knife (the grunt work of peeling and chopping the apples). this would be perfect for just about any occasion - especially if friends just drop by and are looking hungry.
upside-down apple cupcakes
adapted from gourmet magazine, october 2006
6 T butter, divided
3 crisp apples (i used gala, since we have 2 bushels in the garage) - peeled, cored, and chopped into smallish pieces
1/2 c packed brown sugar
big squirt lemon juice
1/2 t penzey's apple pie spice
1/2 c sort-of finely chopped walnuts
3/4 c flour
1/2 c freshly ground cornmeal (thanks, mom!)
1/3 c sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
1 egg
3/4 c milk
butter a 12 cup muffin pan. heat the oven to 425.
heat 2 T butter in a heavy pan over medium heat. add the apples, lemon juice, and spices. cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. the sauce should look like a glaze, and the apples will be tender. add in the walnuts and stir around, until everything is coated nicely.
portion it out into the muffin pans. don't fill them more than half-full with the apple mixture.
in your food processor, pulse the drys. then add in 4 T of cold butter, and pulse until it is grainy and no butter pieces are bigger than a pea.
in a large bowl, whisk the milk and the egg. then whisk in the drys, just until it is just combined. do NOT overmix!!
put the cornmeal mixture on top the apples - do not fill over the top edge of the muffin tins!
bake for about 15-20 minutes. the edges will be slightly browned, and a cake tester will come out clean.
flip the muffins out onto a plate large enough to catch them all. lick up any apple bits yourself. serve, warm, with freshly whipped cream. oh, yum!
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Comments: 37
And man, do these sound (and look) good! Thanks, Jessie and Lillie!
nanci - a little t is a teaspoon, and a big T is a tablespoon!
diet? i don't even count. just enjoy!! thank you, everyone!
Thank you!
larry - no, we do web orders or go to grand rapids. please....i am laughing! stanton is population 800. heh heh...they do have spices at the $ store (groan).
thank you, all! i hope you try them and report back (how many you ate, haha).
Thank you for the cookies. I had almost gnawed through the chain holding me to my desk, but not quite. They came just in time. Now I am re-energized to design all new things for Gather!
Thank you!
Love,
the Gather team
jen/gather team! you crack me up. glad you got them, and enjoyed them. life is good, no? ;) you're welcome!
I love your sentence "if friends just drop by and are looking hungry"...Tells me you'd be fun to visit. I love upside down anything so know I'll love this recipe.
Mine sure weren't as pretty as yours though. Baking is not my strength when it comes to recipes!