I’ve made these six times in the last few weeks as cake, cupcakes, and muffins. SIX times. I’m so ready for pumpkin. You can leave them plain or sprinkle cinnamon sugar or streusel on top. My favorite way was with cinnamon sugar. It’s sweet enough, easier, and I love the crunch. And it’s way healthier than with streusel.
In one variation, I left out the nutmeg and allspice. Yuck. They tasted olive oily, which I hate, so don’t forget the spices! I used extra virgin olive oil, and you really can’t taste it if you add all the spices. And instead of yogurt, I used buttermilk a few times. Vanilla yogurt would work too.
These are moister on the second day, although nothing beats piping hot from the oven.
Ingredients:
1 cup (130 grams) whole spelt, whole wheat pastry, or whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/3 cup (100 grams) honey
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (90ml) olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60ml) plain yogurt or buttermilk
1 cup (180 grams) peeled and chopped apple, preferably from baking apples
For the topping:
1/3 cup (45 grams) whole spelt, whole wheat pastry, or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (100 grams) unrefined brown sugar, or normal brown sugar
2 tablespoons (30 grams) melted butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a muffin tin with 8 muffin liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. In another bowl, whisk the egg. Add the honey, olive oil and vanilla. It might look a little weird at first; just keep stirring until it’s well combined, and then add the yogurt or buttermilk.
4. Add the flour mix to the wet mix. It just needs to be combined, so be careful not to overmix. Then fold in the apples. Fill the liners with the batter, filling almost all the way to the top. You could get more out of these if you want to make them smaller. Just take them out a little earlier.
5. Combine the streusel ingredients. If you don’t want to make the streusel, add some cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon unrefined or brown sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon) to the top of the muffins. It adds a wonderful crust and a little extra sweetness.
6. Bake for about 15 – 17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Yield: 8, when filling the liners to the top
German bakers: Bake at 160°C for about 14 – 16 minutes with the fan.
16 comments on "100% Whole Grain Cinnamon Apple Muffins" — Add one!
These muffins are so moist and delicious! I can already tell I'll be making these a lot. Thank you!
Yay! I'm happy that they worked out for you. Thanks for the feedback. :)
Oh – these muffins turned out so wonderful!!!! I had to share the recipe on my blog. Thank you so much for sharing!! (they are so moist and light and at the same time so full of spice and character)
Sorry for the slow reply! Just got back from vacation. I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the muffins! You've made my day. :) Thanks a bunch for the feedback and happy holiday baking to you. :)
This may be a silly question but when you mention yogurt, do you mean just plain yogurt? Which would you recommend more-plain or vanilla? Thanks!
-LC
It's not silly at all! It's a good question. I used plain yogurt but I imagine vanilla would be even yummier. :) I hope you like them! Thanks for asking… I'll add it to the post!
Erin,
I've been really craving apple baked goods, I think I'll try these tonight. Any suggestions on ideas to make them vegan? Since they only have one dairy ingredient, I'm really tempted to eliminate dairy entirely. Any suggestions for replacing the yogurt/buttermilk with something that isn't just a vegan substitute for these items?
Thanks!
Hi!
Well, it'd have to be something slightly thick, so that rules out apple juice, which is the only good thing I can think of. Is lemon juice in soy milk not a good sub for buttermilk? I know you said not just a vegan sub, but lemon juice in milk is what I always use. I hope whatever you try works out well for you. I'd love to hear how they come out!
Lise – You're great. :) I'm with you all the way on leaving feedback. A lot of people leave their reviews for my recipes on random other sites and I don't understand why.
I'm sorry the muffins didn't have the right apple flavor for you! When you say more sweet-tart apple flavor, do you mean that they should just be sweeter? If you don't mind sugar, I'd just add two tablespoons of unrefined or brown sugar. I'm clueless what to do if you want them tarter. You could also pick a sweeter or tarter apple. I made them a few times with whatever cheap apples I had, but when I made them with Granny Smith there was a clear difference.
How I create a recipe is to look at several different recipes (usually family recipes), which are usually not at all healthy, and then make some healthy changes. I normally change recipes so much that nothing is the same except for the amount of flour. If I use any recipes off the internet, you can always see the original at the source I list. That's probably not very good advice but it's what I do. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful! Thanks again for leaving feedback. I'm always super excited when I see that you've left a comment because you're one of the few that leaves feedback. :)
Hi Erin, I loved how moist and healthy these were, but I wanted more sweet-tart apple flavor. Any ideas? I'm a little nervous about just bumping up the honey since I know that could mess with the moisture ratio! And you're right, I'm slowly cooking my way through your site! I love to leave feedback on the recipe itself since that's what I always look for. How do you come up with all your recipes? I don't think I've ever composed a recipe from scratch in my life! Any tips for novice tinkerers? Thanks!
Kate, I hope you like them! Let me know how they turn out.
I'm in love with this recipe! I've been obsessed with honey-sweetened baked goods lately. This is right up my alley. Making these immediately. Thanks!
Ali, thanks for the compliments! The muffins aren't too difficult to make. I'm sure you could manage. :)
I love apple and everything made out of it. your muffin looks really great, wish you could make me one as am such a lazy cook :) love the photo,nice blog.
Yay! I really hope you like them. And thanks for your compliment. Coming from you, it really means a lot. :)
I have been wanting to make breakfast muffins for a while. I have a couple of recipes in my blog but I wanted to try something new. I will definitely make these very soon and let you know how they turned out. Your pictures look really good!
and by the way thanks for your kind comment :-)