Apple Cinnamon Muffins

You have missed my muffin posts, I am sure of it. It’s been a while since I made a muffin. I know this because my freezer is near empty.

Making a muffin healthy and easy is one of my favorite baking projects, and bonus if I don’t have to buy anything extra. This one fits the bill.

Here is the story of how this muffin came to be…

I wanted to make a muffin, as opposed to a loaf or cookie, because I like taking them for breakfast. I wanted it to be “healthy style,” like without butter or too much white sugar/flour, and I wanted it to be with ingredients I already have. I’m a grocery-once-per-week gal, no more.

I always have apples in the refrigerator, and I’ve already done the blueberry and banana thing anyway, so apples were in. Apples go with nuts and apples go with cinnamon, I’ll use both. Then it turned into something that sounded very Fall festive, and also appropriate for Passover because it’s like haroset. Too bad I thought of this in the middle of July. Apples are good any day.

That’s how this muffin was born. It was pretty great too. Very cinnamon-y, nice crunch from the apples.  And just pretty cute.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 /2 C white sugar
• 1/2 C packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 C pecans (or walnuts)
• 3 T EVOO
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 C almond milk (could sub regular)
• 1 C apple, peeled and chopped (1 big apple for me)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375*.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine all wet ingredients–egg, almond milk, EVOO, vanilla. Whisk together and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients–flour, sugars, salt, spices, baking soda/baking powder.
• Add wet to dry and stir with a spatula. Mixer is not necessary.
• Fold in apples and nuts until combined.
• Spray cooking spray on a muffin tin and spoon batter into tins to fill 12 cups.
• Bake for about 22 minutes, or until tops are browned and inside is cooked.

I’ve been eating these for breakfast with about 4 oz Greek yogurt and a few berries or half banana. I would recommend keeping them in the freezer if you aren’t going to eat it right away, they stay a lot less sticky when you defrost one at a time.

And my sister always likes to see the inside of the muffins.

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