Apple Pie Muffins

Imagine eating all the chunky apples, cinnamon flavor, and fall delicious-ness of a big slice of apple pie...but instead it's wrapped into a muffin disguise.

It's not your imagination. It's reality, friends. And I'm happy to help you make those Apple-Pie-Muffin-Dreams come true tonight.

Baking for company is always a fun adventure. It's perhaps my favorite way to welcome guests into our tiny home (and hopefully distract them from the dust on the window ledges and the beautiful dog bed in the corner of the living room).

With Adam's parents visiting for the weekend, my first item on the "to-bake" checklist was muffins. In the spirit of being seasonal, I was thrilled to discover a recipe for outrageously awesome apple pie muffins--I'll definitely be baking this one again soon. It's loaded with chunks of apple and--get this--apple cider! I topped them with a simple brown sugar-oat mixture, that resulted in a hint of oatmeal cookie flavor.

I may or may not have eaten one when they came out of the oven. And again the next morning, before the in-laws arrived. I'm sure they'll understand :)

As a side note, I doubled this recipe, and made muffins (pictured above) as well as super-mini-loaves (pictured below). I prefer the muffins, but Adam prefers the gigantic muffins/mini loaves. Want to take the spectacular factor up a notch? Eat your muffin with a little spread of Smart Balance and a smidgen of apple butter.

Oh my goodness. Apple muffins make me happy.

Apple Pie Muffins

(recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com)

This is the perfect morning recipe to make when company is coming--who doesn't want an excuse to eat breakfast that tastes like apple pie?

Muffin Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Sprinkling of nutmeg (maybe 1/4 tsp.?)
• 3/4 cup apple cider
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I filled the measuring cup about half full with oil, and the remaining half with unsweetened applesauce)
• 1 egg
• 2 cups finely chopped apples

Crumb Topping Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 2 - 3 TBSP non-hydrogenated vegan margarine OR real butter
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners.

2) Combine dry ingredients for muffins in a large bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg). In a small bowl, combine cider, oil, and egg; blend well. Gently add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing gently. Fold in chopped apple.

3) In a small bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon for the crumb topping. Cut in butter with a fork until crumbly.

4) Fill muffin cups 2/3 full (let's be honest: I fill mine closer to 3/4 full). Top each with some of the crumb topping. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes until lightly browned on top.

5) As noted above, I enjoy mine with a little Smart Balance or butter on top :)