Wow.  …….Wow.   

Wow.

Ok, before I get going on this, these Upside Down Pecan Sticky Muffins by Yvonne Ruperti from her book One Bowl Baking,* two things:

Buy that book.  Now. 

Next?  Skip to the recipe below after the online shopping trip, add anything you don’t have onto your grocery shopping list right this minute, and buy those ingredients ay-sap because you must make these.  Like yesterday. 

All right, now that that’s out of the way….

Wow.

Using the handy Libby library app, I checked the book out, ya know, looking for some casual bedtime perusing.  

I had totally and completely forgotten that I watched Ms. Ruperti on America’s Test Kitchen years ago, instantly taken in by her sweet demeanor.  Heh, that and the way she handled Christopher Kimball, kinda quietly putting him in his place, eye-rolling him. 

Anyway, she clearly has this baking thing down.  

I was hesitant at first to check the book out thinking the one bowl business was going to be a gimmick as it often is, overshadowing the recipes, and not be realistic.  A handful recipes in, I was online buying the book. 

Granted, I might still use a mixer for some of the recipes, just for ease of preparation’s sake.  Regardless of how you plan to pull some of her recipes together, these muffins have to get made.  Like yesterday, I am seriously not kidding.

And ooooohhh myyyyy gawwwwd, holy crap, these are outstanding.  I have not enough effusive descriptor adjectives to apply here.  They’re magnificent. 

Mike walks in the door one evening after work, I’m finishing up dinner, he glances around suspiciously.  I know that look.  It’s the somehow-I-know-she-baked-where-is-it look.

He spots them.

Jaw agape, very long pause coinciding with a very long stare, he then blurts, “screw those cookies you made (the other day) (says the Cookie Monster) (and fair enough, they were not good cookies).  And whyyyyy are we eating that (dinner) when we could be eating these?!?!?”  As he reaches forth to grab one.

Which he promptly stuffs in his mouth.  I see his eyes flutter as he turns and flails, ambling off.

“Do you like it, babe?”  I had to ask four times.

“Let me ask you a question.  (I know I’m in for a doozy when he prefaces his questions in this manner, especially when the “hold it” hand gestures accompany)  Do you honestly believe you’ll be able to get even one of those in before I eat them all?”

We sit down to dinner.  It’s pretty conversation-less which is pretty atypical.  Before I know it, he’s done.

“Hurry up with dinner so I can have another,” as he squirms in his chair, blinking at me with impatient puppy dog eyes.  Tough life this guy leads, I tell ya.

So these are good, heh.  Freakin’ outstandingly good.  Blow your mind good.  Good is a very, very poor choice of words.

Plus, to top it off, they are a breeze to make, a snap, a walk in the park.  Bonus?  They’re so fancy pants, people will think you’ve toiled over these all day when in fact, you were lounging.  Eating them.  Because you won’t be able to stop yourself.

Start by mixing up the topping ingredients and divide that evenly between the twelve wells of paper lined muffin tin, as you saw above.  I left the pecans relatively large here and I strongly suggest you do the same.

To keep this a one bowl recipe, clean out the bowl then add the butter, sugars, salt, egg stuff, sour cream (or whole milk plain yogurt which is what I used), and vanilla, blending that up. 

Add the dry ingredients and the chopped nuts (here I recommend chopping these pecans a bit finer though looks like I hadn’t) and divide the batter between the muffin cups, being sure to cover over the topping bits. 

Pop that into the oven, bake, keeping an eye on them to avoid over baking and having the topping escape, take them out, and let them cool for about ten minutes.

Whip out a fancy serving platter, yes fancy, then carefully, because they’re still hot and you don’t want to burn yourself, tip the muffins out and over, peel away the paper liner, spooning out any topping that decided to stick around inside the cup. 

Feel free to eat these warm, ooooh my, please do, or let them cool.  These are super super moist so get through them relatively quick.   Hahaha, surely that will not be an issue.  Heh, sorry (not).

Yvonne, if you ever see this, thank you.  Thank you so much.

Hey, happy apple season everyone!  Did you see Jen’s Apple Coffee Cake?  Get on that one asap, would ya?  And if you’re looking for more apple recipes, be sure to click here!  Plus!, turns out Mike loves the little Honey Cake mini muffins — revisit that recipe to see a small tweak I made using applesauce!

Upside Down Pecan Sticky Muffins

A blow-your-mind magical cross between gooey sticky buns and fluffy muffins that will haunt you in the best way.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 0

Ingredients

Volume - Weight

Topping:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup pecans coarsely chopped

Muffins:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
• 2/3 cup sour cream or whole milk plain yogurt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup pecans chopped

Instructions

• Begin preheating the oven to 375°F (190°C) and with paper liners, line a 12 well muffin tin.

Make the topping:

• Add the melted butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and honey to a large bowl and whisk until well combined. Add in the chopped pecans, stir, then spoon the mix into the muffin cups, dividing evenly between them. Set aside.

Make the muffins:

• Clean out the bowl and add the butter, sugars, salt, egg, egg yolk, sour cream (or yogurt), and vanilla to it. Whisk that well until nicely mixed.
• Add the dry ingredients next, the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and stir with a spatula or large spoon until barely combined. Add the pecans and stir in gently.
• With a large spoon, scoop the batter over the topping into the muffin cups, dividing the batter between the 12 cups. Gently spread the batter in each cup to make sure the topping is covered.
• Bake for about 17 to 19 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and firm like a muffin. Avoid over-baking to prevent tough muffins and bubbling over topping.
• Cool the muffins in the tin for about 10 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins from the tin, flip upside down onto a plate or serving dish, peel away the paper muffin liner, and scoop out any remaining topping left behind if necessary. Be careful; things may still be quite hot.
• Serve warm or cooled to room temperature. Store lightly covered.

Notes

Adapted with permission from Yvonne Ruperti’s One Bowl Baking.*

*Yvonne Ruperti’s One Bowl Baking book is an Amazon affiliate link.  Thanks!  Please see the right sidebar for more info.