Apple Spice Muffins
I seem to be on a baking kick lately, and these Apple Spice Muffins are my new favorite. They are seriously so good, I’ve made them four times in the last month. Just barely sweet, really moist, and very season-appropriate with their flavors of apple, allspice and cinnamon. They store well, too, and I’ve been making a batch and enjoying them for breakfast for the next day or two.
A tart apple is really important, so make sure you have a Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or other tart apple. I made them with Fuji apples and they just weren’t the same, the apple flavor just got lost. Still tasty, just not fantastic.
I also love and recommend using coconut oil in this recipe. Not only is it a really great, healthy fat, but the subtle coconut flavor goes nicely with the apple and spices. I made these muffins once with butter and, again, not as good. You won’t be able to distinguish a coconut flavor, but it just adds a certain special something to the overall taste.
I make them gluten-free with a flour mix of 1 3/4 cups oat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose GF flour mix. But they absolutely do not have to be gluten-free – they are based on a recipe for regular muffins and they’ll work great with whole wheat pastry flour, whole grain spelt flour, or probably just about any flour you like to use. Muffins in general are versatile and forgiving, making them a great low-stress baking experience.
Here’s the deal with the cinnamon and butter topping: I like how it gives the muffins a little extra richness and flavor, but you don’t have to do it. It doesn’t take that long though, and doesn’t make any more dirty dishes because I melt the butter in the same pan as the coconut oil, so I always do it.
One more thing – don’t peel your apples! It will save you time, and there are nutrients in the peel. Just thinly mince the apples so that the bits of peel are too small to notice the texture. I like the apples big enough to taste but not so big that they sink to the bottom of the muffin tin. That’s about 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch (the peel part) by 1/3 inch (fleshy apple part). Hope that makes sense.
Spiced Apple Muffins
Total Prep Time: 35 minutes
Active Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 15 muffins
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups flour, preferably whole-grain (I use 1 3/4 cups oat flour and 1/2 all purpose GF mix)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp allspice
½ cup coconut oil, melted
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
1/3 to ½ cup honey depending on how sweet you like your muffins
1 large or 2 small tart apples such as honeycrisp or granny smith, cores removed and finely chopped
Topping
2 tablespoons butter, melted
½ tsp cinnamon
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Whisk together the flour, powder, soda, salt and allspice in a large bowl.
- Beat the coconut oil, eggs, yogurt and honey until well combined. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the apples.
- Scoop into muffin tins (recipes makes about 15 muffins). Melt the butter and stir in the cinnamon. Drizzle the butter over the tops of the unbaked muffins.
- Bake at 375 for 18 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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