Tart Apple Oat Muffins

I've inherited my grandmothers soul. She was always the first to rise before light drifted through the windows. Walking the floors with a cup of coffee, while watching the sun peak through the trees. This came to me as I waywardly made my way out of bed, while the sky was still shrouded in darkness, walked down the stairs and leaned against my kitchen sink as I awaited the song from my tea pot to alert me…just as the sun began to crest.
The chill in the air outside this morning could be felt in the wood floor boards under my feet. Clearly the cooler weather is upon us. Sunday, my favorite little helper, stood on a chair and decided he was going to pitch in to help my daughter and I make muffins.
All he really ended up helping with was eating the apple slices when we weren't looking ,as well as sinking his teeth in a muffin while I unsuspectingly snapped his photo.
It was heartwarming to have both kids in the kitchen. Watching my daughter as she instructed her little brother on how to mix the ingredients, sounding just like me, as I had instructed her.
This made me completely ignore the amount of flour and oats that ended up on the floor. Or the tiny crumbles left behind in a trail up the stairs that next morning as I made my way through the house far before sunrise.

Tart Apple Oat Muffins
Prep Time- 35 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Yields- one dozen 

Ingredients:
Muffins:
1 cup old fashion rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup peeled, diced granny smith apples

Streusel Topping: 
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Thinly sliced apples (optional)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400 In a large bowl, combine the oats, flours, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate small bowl, with a fork, beat the eggs with the buttermilk, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Stir in the apples.
Add the apple mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine, just until the ingredients are moistened. The batter will be thick.
Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups (in a muffin tin pan) about two thirds full.
For the streusel- Using a fork (or a food processor to make the process easier) . Mix together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter until the mixture is crumbly.
Sprinkle topping evenly among each batter filled cup.
In the picture you can see that I also apple a few thin slices of the same tart apples before place these in the oven. This is optional.

Bake at 400 for 15- 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted down the centers comes out clean.
Cool for about 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan and place on a wire rack
These are phenomenal served warm, but also are great cold while headed out the door.