Recipe Fail

So do you ever think something is almost too good to be true?? Like when you see the picture of a finished product and you think to yourself, "yeah, right...." That is exactly what happens to me when I read certain recipes!  There is just something inside of you while reading some recipes that has such an skeptical feel that you know it will not turn out... But you try it anyways... Like I did.
The recipe I found was on a website for "dried apples."  Okay, my family has dried fruit before, and usually it takes hours upon hours... Not minutes.  That should have been my "definite no" button.  So that was my first red flag.  The recipe basically said to slice apples super thin, lay them on a baking sheet; sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on them and then pop them in the oven for about 45 minutes at 245 degrees and they will "dry."  NOPE. As I had predicted they did not turn out at all!! I even let them bake about 20 minutes past the time they called for.
Needless to say, if you read a recipe and have doubts. Follow your instinct! At least this recipe only cost me an apple!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Cinnamon is one of my favorite ingredients and flavors!! I LOVE cinnamon fruit pies, cinnamon on toast, cinnamon and chocolate, and just about anything else that goes with cinnamon!  SO, why wouldn't I just love these Apple Cinnamon Muffins!?

The recipe here actually is based off of one that my grandma gave to me; I did tweak it a little, just because I like to mess with things... And her recipe originally called for nuts, which I do not like in my baked goods.  SO, here is the recipe if you would like to try these delicious muffins!  Notice that you will need LARGE muffin tins for this recipe.  I am sure that you could adjust the bake time and temperature if you want to make it in small tins, but I haven't done that yet, so I am not going to take a gamble at either of those variables for your recipe!

Batter: 

Finished muffin batter

1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup of apple juice
4 cups of flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups of chopped apple (use the apple type which best fits your taste!)

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter

1. For the batter, mix wet ingredients together until well-blended.
2. Add all dry ingredients, except apples, to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.  The batter will be a bit thick.
3. Mix in chopped apples with large spoon/spatula so they do not get crushed in mixer (if using one).
4. Spoon out mixture into paper-lined muffin tins filling about 2/3 of the way full.
5. Sprinkle the top with a generous amount of topping: the topping can be assembled by mixing all those ingredients together in bowl.  It may form lumps because of the butter and flour, but you can crush those up to make a nice crumble topping.
6. Bake at 345 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before taking out of muffin pans.
8. Enjoy!

Delicious!