Apple Pie Muffin Tops

I had serious trouble naming this post. Going from apple pie softies to apple muffin tops to pillowy clouds of apple pie heaven, I settled for the original name – nothing describes these better!

Yep, yet another one of Angela’s recipes. I’m now well aware that I have an obsession with Oh She Glows – I’m working on it! These were first shown about three months ago and I haven’t got a clue why it took me so long to get around to making this recipe – these are incredible.

The best part about these muffin tops isn’t the fact that they’re truly just soft, sweet pieces of apple in clouds of pillowy cinnamon muffin. These are oil-free and full of nutritious, wholesome ingredients, so you won’t begin to develop any other type of unwanted muffin tops…

Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

Apple Pie Mixture:

• 2 apples (preferably a tart, green variety such as granny smith), cored and peeled (1 diced and 1 grated)
• 1/4 C maple syrup
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• pinch salt

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 + 1/4 C whole wheat flour
• 1 C rolled oats
• (scant) 1/4 C raw sugar
• 1/2 C walnuts, chopped and toasted
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 2 t ground cinnamon
• big pinch salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 ‘flax’ egg (1 tbsp flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water, set aside to thicken)
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/4 C soy milk (or any other nondairy milk)
• 1/3 C unsweetened applesauce

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a non-stick baking mat.
2. In a small saucepan, mix all ingredients for the apple pie mixture. Heat gently while you prepare the other ingredients until apple pieces are soft (about 10 minutes). Allow to cool.
3. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the cooled apple pie mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing well to fully combine.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine. Make sure it’s properly mixed!
5. Drop large spoonfuls of batter onto your pre-prepared sheet. Make sure they have enough space to spread out a little. Don’t press the mixture flat.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a little golden. These cookies remain fairly soft and moist – they don’t crisp up. The final result should be muffin-like in texture.
7. Cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes around 16-20 muffin tops, depending on what size you make them.

I used a vegetable (potato) peeler to peel the apples. Saves so much time! Naked apples:

 

I’m pretty sure you’ll find something useful to do with those nutrient-packed apple skins. Me, I zapped them in the microwave until they were soft and sprinkled them with cinnamon.

Tip: be quick after grating your apples and making your apple pie mixture. The grated apple turns brown really quickly! Next time I’d add a little lemon juice to the grated stuff – not that it made any difference in the finished product, though.

Mix your dry ingredients…

And the wet… (cooled apple pie mixture has been added in this picture)

Add the wet into the dry, mix to form a batter and drop spoonfuls onto your cookie sheet. Smile – you’re only 15 minutes away from apple pie goodness! (Though the uncooked batter tastes amazing, too. I would know; I was on clean-up duty )

…and out of the oven they come. Warm, apple pie pillows.

A few different types of muffin tops greeted me when I took the tray out of the oven.

Plain ol’ muffin top:

Missing-apple-piece muffin top:

No more muffin top:

Mmm!

Pearl xo