Despite being perfectly cute and relatively easy, I was never a big muffin person. I think so many batches of terrible, hockey puck like 'heathiest ever free from absolutely everything' muffins will do that to you. But at some point, I learned to make real muffins, and the idea of small cake-y type items seemed to really make sense. Everything also bakes up a lot quicker in muffin form. So I became that person that always has a muffin on hand (in the freezer, at my desk, in my purse. I literally pulled a muffin out of seemingly thin air yesterday on a Facetime hang) and purposely keeps extra bananas around just for the sake of future muffins. My snack game has gone way up because of it. Not to mention muffins are just another thing to spread peanut butter on and that's what it's really all about.
This recipe is inspired by Healthyish Gluten Free Apple Oat Muffins with some adjustments.
I've decreased the sugar here, because when I'm looking for a snack I'm not looking for a sugar rush. I also use yogurt quite a lot in baking because I always have it on hand, plus I like the texture and protein boost it provides. If you're dairy free, any oil will do.
I recently changed this recipe again to make it a touch more fall appropriate. I used brown butter and upped the spices and was more than pleased with the results. So I've included both options below!
Ingredients:
4 large eggs
zest of 1/2 a lemon *optional
1 tbsp lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
1/3 cup maple syrup (1/2 cup if you want them a bit sweeter)
2/3 cup plain yogurt (or brown butter, directions below)
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1 cup almond flour
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg *optional
1 ground clove *optional
1 tsp salt
1 large or 2 small apples grated or very finely chopped, save your time, keep the skins (about 2 cups total)
1/2 cup chopped nuts or seeds (walnuts, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, peanuts work well- a mix is also good)
topping, optional
1/2 cup whichever nuts or seeds you used in the filling
2 tbsp brown sugar
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a muffin tin with butter.
If you are going butter route, here's how it's done: In a small pot, melt butter over medium heat. Allow to cook until milk solids cook out (you will see brown flecks at the bottom of the pan) and the butter smells nutty. Continue to cook until it takes on a golden brown colour. Cooking a little further will develop more flavour, but be careful because it can burn quickly from this point. Remove from heat and allow to cool. If you're using oil or yogurt, ignore this.
Whisk the eggs very well until nice and frothy. Add the lemon zest (if using) and juice (or vinegar), maple syrup and yogurt (or brown butter). In a separate bowl, mix the oat flour, almond flour, flaxseed, baking powder, spices and salt together. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix just until it's come together. Finally, fold in the apples, any add other add ins you fancy. Divide evenly into muffin cups.
Mix together the nuts/seeds and the brown sugar for the topping and sprinkle this mix all over the top of the muffins.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean once inserted. Pop them out of the muffin tins and let them cool. I typically freeze half the batch immediately in a big zip top bag for easy grabbing later. I don't think you need to wrap each one individually, but you can. It would probably freeze better, I just hate wasting plastic wrap.
Happy snacking!
-olivia