Apple Cinnamon Muffins #MuffinMonday

Buttery chunks of sweet fresh apple in a wholesome whole grain muffin.

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There's nothing better than a local apple, grown for flavor--not the ability to step off the truck looking enticing. I'm delighted to get an apple share with my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. Just like berries in Spring, and melons in summer, we look forward to the changing of the seasons with the arrival of apples heralding the advent of Fall.

This time of year I am the proverbial Ant of Ant and Grasshopper lore. I spend my days off harvesting, chopping, mincing, slicing, roasting, dehydrating, freezing and canning the local summer abundance. I do this for three reasons. First, I hate to waste food so permitting produce to spoil because I haven't gotten around to eating it is unacceptable to me. Second, I like to eat locally sourced food--and there's nothing more local than my backyard!  Third, I'm a frugal sort. If I'm overrun with tomatoes in August, why not put them up now so I avoid paying money later when I want to make my Creamy Tomato Soup for my daughter's lunch?

As is true in Life, I have a few exceptions to my rule of 'save it for later'. Apples are one of those exceptions (avocados are another--I know you can freeze them, but I've never tried. I just gorge myself). I realize that I am capable of canning applesauce or dehydrating apple slices . . . but I'd rather bite into a fresh apple. Since apples store a good long time in the crisper, the apple share of my CSA farm share invariably lasts longer than the farm share season (much like the contents of the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve).

For more recipes using apples, please see my Apple Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

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Note: this recipe involves a wee bit of planning ahead. You need to soak the oats in buttermilk for at least an hour. I generally throw the oats and buttermilk into a pint sized canning jar in the fridge a day or two before I plan to make muffins. However, you can toss them together in a bowl on the counter and go check FB or take a dog for a walk if you'd prefer.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins
By Kirsten Madaus

Buttery chunks of sweet fresh apple in a wholesome whole grain muffin.

Prep time: 01:00
Cook time: 00:15
Total time: 01:20

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
¼ cup (2 ounces) vegetable oil
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour (I used white whole wheat)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
¾ teaspoon Baking Spice (or other cinnamon/nutmeg spice blend)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup diced Golden Delicious apples
about 1 Tablespoon cinnamon sugar in a shaker bottle

Instructions:

In a large bowl, soak oats in buttermilk for one hour. You can prep this up to 3 days ahead.

When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12 well muffin pan with paper liners.

Add egg, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla to oat mixture.

Dump dry ingredients on top. Set aside.

In a small bowl (or the measuring cup you melted the butter in) stir butter, cinnamon, sugar, and apple pieces together.

Briefly stir dry ingredients into oats. Add apples.

Combine all ingredients until just moistened. Scoop into prepared pan, filling ⅔ to ¾ full.

Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of muffins.

Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven. Cool in pan for 5 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

• Ackee and Saltfish Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Apple Cinnamon Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Bacon Gruyere Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Butternut Squash Raisin Mini Muffins from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Lemony Olive Oil Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Swiss Almond Vanilla Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Zucchini Walnut Muffin from Palatable Pastime