These Apple Spice Muffins from Jenn Seagal are perfect to include as a snack in school lunchboxes or even as an accompaniment to morning tea for you and your friends.
Jenn says she tweaked the recipe from a commercial flour manufacturer, but the reason they’re so irresistible is their “chockfull of apples” and scented with warm autumn spices. The brown sugar on top gives them a crunchiness that makes them deliciously different.
This is also a good recipe for young helpers in the kitchen.
Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt (not Greek-style)
1 cup whole wheat flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with back edge of knife
1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with back edge of knife
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups peeled, cored and finely chopped baking apples (you'll need 2 large apples)
For Topping
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with butter or olive oil.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
3. Add the egg and mix well, stopping to scrape the bowl if necessary.
4. Beat in the yogurt. The batter will look grainy.
5. Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Beat on low speed until just combined. The batter will be very thick.
6. Add the chopped apples and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.
7. Use an ice-cream scooper or large spoon to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. The cups should be full. Sprinkle the 6 tablespoons of brown sugar evenly over top.
8. Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.
9. Remove the muffins from the oven, cool them for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling completely.