Apple Coffee Cake Muffins with Yogurt

Muffins have become something of a staple for us lately.  They are perfect for tossing in your work back for an alternative to the vending machine or coffee shop treats.  I have been wrapping them in plastic wrap and freezing them to help them last longer.  These apple coffee cake muffins are so yummy for a mid-morning snack.  They are nice and moist and have lots of good for you points with the apples, walnuts, and yogurt. 

I slightly adjusted this recipe to add in a little whole wheat flour (and the cinnamon).  It is amazing to me that I am doing that now - swapping in whole wheat flour for a baked good!  Not too long ago I would have had zero interest in add in that whole wheat but lately the extra bit of nutrition seems like a good idea.  And muffins are perfect for this - you don't even notice!  I really dislike super wheaty flavoring so if you are still holding out on adding in whole wheat flour to your baking this is a good recipe to try and ease into it. 

Apple Coffee Cake Muffins

Makes 16 muffins
Adapted from: Kitchen M

1 c. unbleached AP flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

6 Tbsp butter, cut into small cubes and softened to room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 c. plain non-fat yogurt
3 apples, peeled, cored, diced into small pieces

Topping:
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/3 c. chopped walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon, ground

Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Prepare topping first. Mix brown sugar, walnuts and ground cinnamon in a small cup and set a side. Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder together, mix well and set aside. In a separate large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until smooth. Add egg and egg white and continue to beat. Add yogurt and mix well.

Pour flour mixture into the wet mixture and fold using a spatula. Stir in diced apples gently and avoid over mixing.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle on the topping, I like to slightly push in the nuts. Bake at 375 F for 18 minutes or so until tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool to room temperature.

Enjoy!

Simple Muffins with Lots of Possibility

Breakfast on the weekends is serious business in our little home.  During the week breakfast is hurried affair as we rush out the door consisting of english muffins with peanut butter and greek yogurt with granola.  So on the weekends we like to do a little cooking or baking to start the day off on the track of more fun than utilitarian. 

That said, some weekend mornings we find ourselves at the end of the grocery cycle and in a kitchen without a pantry that equates to not a lot of options.  Sometimes we can scrounge up enough eggs and some frozen potatoes to pull together a frittata or a few leftover tortillas for a breakfast burrito... But in a pinch homemade biscuits or muffins will do the trick.  Add a little jam to a muffin right out of the oven and it will beat a muffin picked up at the coffee shop every time.

I have been making this muffin recipe for ages.  When I was kid and learning to bake it was from my mom's cookbooks from the '60s.  This sweet muffins recipe came from one of those books (I think it was a Betty Crocker one).  Some recipes are improved with modern makeovers but this basic muffin that can evolve to dozens of variations so easily is still just right as is.  It is the simple muffin with lots of possibilities - depending on what you have on hand of course!

Sweet Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter bottoms of 12 muffin cups or put in papers.

Beat egg; whisk in milk and oil.  Stir dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Then mix the flour mixture with the egg mixture just until flour is moistened; batter will be lumpy.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake 18-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately remove from pan to cool. 

There are many ways to modify this basic muffin recipe depending on what you might have on hand...

Surprise muffins: Fill muffin cups 1/2 full; add a tsp of jam and then add batter cover jam and fill to 2/3 full.

Blueberry muffins: Fold in 1 cup fresh blueberries with the dry ingredients.

Cranberry-Orange muffins: Fold in 1 Tbp grated orange peel and 1 cup cranberries (cut in half)

Apple muffins: Stir in 1 cup grated aple and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Sprinkle the top with a sugar, cinnamon, nuts topping.

Enjoy!

~ Tara