I think we all know by now that I’m a huge fan of autumn and everything that comes with it. One of my favorite autumn flavors, which often gets overshadowed by pumpkin and apple, is maple. Though maple syrup isn’t harvested until the late winter or early spring, its decadent flavor reminds me of eating warm pancakes on chilly autumn mornings.

My aunt recently lent me a very cute maple leaf muffin tin, so I’ve been searching for a recipe to use it with. I happened upon this maple muffin recipe on tasteofhome.com; what a perfect fit! For an easy recipe like this, I try not to buy any ingredients if I don’t absolutely have to. For example, this recipe calls for sour cream and milk. Presumably, the author intended us to use full fat sour cream and milk, but that’s not what I have laying around the house. So instead, I used skim milk and light sour cream. Let me cut to the chase: use whichever version of these ingredients you prefer.

These muffins are ideal for eating on your way out the door in the morning, or tossing in your bag for an afternoon snack. Or, if you’re like me, they’re perfect for munching while you write your blog post. I prefer my muffins with a glass of cold milk, but go crazy- try them with tea!

Original Recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/morning-maple-muffins

INGREDIENTS:

BATTER:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup sour cream

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

TOPPING:

3 tbsp all purpose flour

3 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine milk, butter, syrup, sour cream, egg and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. For topping, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pans and moving to wire racks. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Leslie