Brown Butter Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

First, brown the butter. Cut butter into tablespoons. Place in a medium skillet. Melt the butter over medium heat, swirling it in the pan occasionally. The butter will foam and pop, so be careful. Continue to swirl the pan often. Remove pan from heat once the butter starts to brown and smells nutty. There will be small brown bits on the bottom. The butter should be an amber color. Pour butter into a small bowl and cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. In a small bowl, whisk together the browned butter, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined. Do not over mix. Stir in the apples until just combined.

To make the cinnamon sugar topping, in a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.

Fill the prepared muffin pan with muffin batter, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Sprinkle each muffin with cinnamon sugar topping. Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let muffins cool to room temperature and serve.

Note: The muffins will keep in an air tight container on the counter for up to 2 days. You can freeze these muffins in a freezer bag or container for up to 1 month.