Apple Cider Muffins with Cinnamon Crumble

Source: Jennelle Clark, in the USU Statesman Newspaper delivered to me by my sister, Heather

Ingredients:
For the muffins:
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup apple cider, "the real stuff that you have to shake before drinking"
1/4 cup buttermilk

For the cinnamon crumble:
4 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons cold butter

Directions:
To make the muffins, start by reducing the apple cider.  Place it in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and let simmer gently, reducing to 1/4 cup.  This takes about 15-20 minutes.  Set reduced cider aside.  (Note: if you want to put a cinnamon stick and a few whole cloves in with your apple cider while it is reducing, this will add extra spice to your muffins, not to mention make your house smell heavenly while you wait.)

Meanwhile, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes, or until it becomes fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat well.

Combine the buttermilk and reduced cider with butter-sugar mixture.  (Note: if you don't keep buttermilk on hand it's really easy to make your own.  Just put about a teaspoon of white vinegar into whole milk and let sit for 5-10 minutes before adding it to the batter.)

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until combined.  It's okay if there are lumps, it's worse to over mix the batter than to under mix it because it will make the muffin crumb tough and chewy instead of tender and moist.

Fill 12 greased or paper-lined muffin tins just over halfway full with batter and set aside while you make the topping.

To make the cinnamon crumble, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Cut the butter into little pieces and add it to the flour mixture.  Use a fork, butter knife, pastry cutter or your fingers to work the butter into the flour and sugar until a crumbly mixture - a streusel - forms.

Distribute the streusel evenly over the muffins (about 1 heaping tablespoon on each).  (Note: if you want to make a healthier version of these muffins, leave off the cinnamon crumble and replace half of the butter with applesauce.  This will also add to the apple flavor of the muffins.)

Bake at 350F for 5 minutes, then turn the oven up to 375F and finish baking until the muffin tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the milddle of a muffin comes out clean, about 12 minutes.  (Note: If you want to add nuts to the crumble, chop and toast them ahead of time and then stir them into the crumble after you've already cut the butter in.)

This recipe should yield 1 dozen muffins.

Notes:
While my family was visiting us in Colorado last weekend, Heather brought a copy of the Statesman from that week with this delightful recipe inside.  We decided to give them a whirl on Saturday morning and they were quite delicious.  My only complaint is that it didn't make very many muffins - "should yield 1 dozen muffins" turned into 7 muffins for us, just enough for each of us in the apartment that morning to have 1 muffin each, as a little taste.  But they were definitely yummy and apple cidery!