Apple Muffins

OK, so I'm pregnant. Big surprise that I would have a craving for something. The other day, it was muffins. I haven't made muffins in a long time, and they are one of my favorite breakfast items. So I went in search of a recipe that would fulfill said craving, and found one on the Food Network (this has been my go-to of late since I'm no longer dieting), and found this one from Ellie Krieger. Go figure that I would pick the one recipe in there that is actually somewhat healthy. As usual, I made a few changes. These muffins were supposed to have a streusel topping, but I wasn't feeling it, so I just threw the topping ingredients into the batter instead. The recipe called for 1/4 C pecans, which may have worked well for the topping, but I would definitely add a bit more to the batter next time. The recipe also called for one Golden Delicious apple, but it didn't specify what size. So I chose to use two smallish apples, and I picked Honeycrisp apples because they are my favorite and fortunately, they're still in season. I think that two apples may have been too many because my muffin cups were overflowing, but I just love the chunks of apples, so the more the merrier in my opinion. Patrick and I ate the muffins hot out of the pan because they are so much better fresh from the oven. Let me tell you, these muffins really hit the spot, and the baby kicked in approval.

Apple Muffins

• 3/4 C plus 2 Tbs packed brown sugar
• 1/4 C chopped pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1 C whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 C canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 C natural applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 C low fat buttermilk
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a 12-capacity muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and oil until combined.

Add the eggs.

Whisk well.

Add in the applesauce, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Mix well.

Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.

Add apples and pecans.

Gently stir to mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.