I've been in the mood for apple bran muffins but wanted to make them myself so they wouldn't be filled with oil and a bunch of sugar and all that. I didn't have any bran flour so I made due with what I had. Makes roughly 30 muffins.
Ingredients:
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 c. rolled oats
4 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. allspice
1/2 c. + 3 tbsp.(reserved) almond meal
3/4 c. water
4 tbsp. flaxseed meal
1 1/2 c. almond milk
1/2 c. unsweetened natural applesauce
3/4 c. maple syrup
1 tbsp. oil
2 apples, peeled and chopped into small pieces (I chose locally grown Pink Lady apples)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line muffin tins.
- Mix the flaxseed meal and water in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl (for the almond meal, only use the 1/2 cup. The few tablespoons will be used later.)
- Mix the remaining wet ingredients into the flaxseed bowl. When this is well incorporated, slowly stir in the dry ingredients, making sure not to over mix.
- Fold in apple pieces.
- Spoon batter into lined muffin tins, filling up about 3/4 of the way. Sprinkle cinnamon and almond meal on top of muffins.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until fully baked (check this with a fork or toothpick).
- Place on cooling racks.
Be careful if you are like me and can't wait for your baked goods to cool before devouring-- the apples are HOT! Also, store them in the refrigerator. I just realized that after a few days of being stored in an air-tight container on the counter they are already bad. Such a bummer because these were mighty tasty! These muffins were an easy breakfast or afternoon snack so it's sad to see them go already. If you like dense, filling, not-too-sweet muffins, then these are definitely for you. If you aren't using muffin liners, feel free to leave out the 1 tbsp. oil. I only put in a tad bit of oil so they wouldn't stick to the liners -- it seemed to have helped. All in all, these muffins were quite enjoyable. I will definitely be making them again. Hm, maybe I'll add some slivered almonds or chopped walnuts next time...
