Brown Sugar and Spice Muffins

"There are two ways to live your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other as though everything is a miracle."

Albert Einstein




Wow, the holidays are here! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! The weather is chilly here. I don't seem to remember how cold it gets here in Western Washington. The Summer comes, and I blissfully forget of the winter before, leaving me cold and dumbstruck when it arrives again.



Mix wet ingredients with dry

We've lived here 5 years now. Maybe it takes longer than that to forget a lifetime of year round warm weather in Southern California.

Don't mix it too much, just until it's combined

This is the kind of food I like to eat when the weather is cold. Warm, simple food with yummy spices. This muffin recipe is super easy. Really. Add dry ingredients in a bowl, add wet in another bowl, and fold together gently. That's it! Which makes these muffins easy to whip up in a hurry.

Scoop batter into greased muffin tin

With the holidays upon us, and families visiting, having an easy muffin recipe with simple ingredients in your back pocket is a good thing.

  

Right out of the oven

These muffins will please even the most discerning guest. They are moist, and flavorful, with a sweet cinnamon sugar top. Heartwarming food that will comfort you on a cold day.

Vintage Paragon teacup (below) available in my Etsy shop, House of Lucien.

House of Lucien is having a big CYBER WEEK SALE! Take 20 % off anything and everything using coupon code, CYBERMONDAY2012. Coupon good till Friday, 11/30/2012.

House of Lucien is also on facebook!

Brown Sugar and Spice Muffins

These would also be tasty with some raisins, or other dried fruit, or nuts added


Ingredients

Dry:

2 cups (300 g.) all-purpose flour

1 cup (200 g.) brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Wet:

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups plain yogurt or sour cream

1/3 cup (78 ml.) vegetable oil

1/4 cup (59 ml) unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For Topping

cinnamon sugar

ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees Fahrenheit, 190 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 5. Spray or grease a 12 count muffin tin. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and gently fold the mixture into the dry mixture. Don't mix it too much, your muffins will be tough if you do. Just mix it enough to blend it, then stop.

Scoop the batter into the muffin tins using an ice cream scoop. Sprinkle tops of muffins with a little cinnamon sugar, then top them with a little freshly grated nutmeg.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes, (check after 18 minutes.) Let the muffins cool on a wire rack in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tins by running a knife along the edge to loosen, then remove and let cool on a rack, or remove them and serve them!