Cinnamon Apple Streusel Muffins

What better thing to do on a cold post-Christmas day, but make muffins?  You know Adam's game.  He was pushing his chair up to the chopping block as soon as I asked "Do you want to bake muffins?"  That boy is going to be a chef by the time he's grown.

I wanted to make something with apples, so I adapted 2 recipes I got off of the net to make this apple strussel muffin. 

Adam loved eating the raw strussel topping while we baked so much that he muttered "Mmmm, yummy" with each fistful.  Only in childhood can you eat raw butter and sugar without guilt.

It's made with 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour.  I use a white whole wheat that is lighter than the average whole wheat.  If you're not interested in using whole wheat, you can just replace it with white flour.

Don't overfill the muffin tin, as the muffins will all meld together to make one massive streusel-topped apple muffin mess.  On the other hand, that might not be a terrible problem to have.....

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Apple Streusel Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup natural applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
 2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (I used Granny Smith)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-capacity muffin pan with cooking spray.


In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.


In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and oil until combined. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in the applesauce and vanilla.


Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined. Gently stir in the apple chunks.


Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Sprinkle with the steusel mixture (see recipe below).  Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.


Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

Streusel Topping

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened  
Mix ingredients well together, either with a pastry cutter, fork or even you hand.

Olive Oil Muffins

Today, the windchill is -1, so it's a stay-inside-make-muffins kind of day.  I was tired of making the typical banana muffins that Adam and I make, so I searched for a new recipe while drinking my morning coffee. 

Oh, and the one I found is delicious.  It's so delicious, in fact, that I suspect it's closer to a cupcake.  But, it being called a muffin makes me feel better about eating 2 (or 3) of them, so muffin it is!

Now, I know what you're thinking.  Olive oil muffin being that tasty?  And with balsamic vinegar??  Did I lose my mind?  I'll admit, the name of the recipe isn't the most appealing.  But I assure you, make them and you will not be a skeptic anymore.  Come back and let me know how wrong you were initially!

I didn't add the toasted almonds because Adam is being tested for a tree nut allergy.  So, I replaced them with raisins.  But if he passes the test, then I'm adding them the next time. 

I got the recipe from Foodnetwork.com.  Picture is mine.

Enjoy!

Olive Oil Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons whole milk
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Powdered sugar, for sifting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin.


Blend together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vinegar and milk. Gradually beat in the oil.

Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Crush the almonds with your hands as you add them to the batter and stir until mixed. Fill the muffin tin almost to the top of the paper liners. Bake until golden on top and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins onto a platter and let cool for 5 more minutes. Sift powdered sugar over the muffins and serve.

Strawberry-Banana Muffins

When you're a stay at home mom of a toddler, you end up baking a lot of muffins.  Well, at least I do.  It's a way to break up the day and give the little guy something fun to do with Mama.  He loves to push his chair up and help me stir the ingredients.  Here's a picture of him in action....

Usually I'm trying to use up old bananas, but today I realized our uber-large carton of Costco strawberries were going bad already.  There's something about being at Costco for too long that makes their ginormous container suddenly seem average size.  Until you get it home and you realize it's the size of your first apartment's bathroom.  Anyway, I digress.

So, off I went to search for a new muffin recipe for the two of us and came across a basic and healthy one.  We both loved it.  I'm thinking this would be a good candidate for a little sweet streusel topping next time.  Mmmmm.

It calls for whole wheat flour, which I know not everyone likes for their baked goods.  I use it because Adam is none the wiser right now.  I use a white whole wheat flour that uses a lighter whole wheat that has a more delicate flavor.  Don't get me wrong, it ain't no white flour.  But it's a big improvement on the standard whole wheat.  If you're not keen on the whole wheat, you can always use 1/2 whole wheat/white flour.  Or just use all white flour.  I won't judge.
 
I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Strawberry Banana Muffins
Makes 12

2 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 bananas, mashed
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup sliced strawberries, fresh or frozen unsweetened

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 12 large muffin cups, or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce, oil, brown sugar, vanilla and bananas. Combine the flour, baking soda and cinnamon; Stir into the banana mixture until moistened. Stir in the strawberries until evenly distributed. Spoon batter into muffin cups until completely filled.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed lightly. Cool before removing from the muffin tins.

Zucchini Muffins

Now that I have a bigger kid (11) and a littler kid (20 months), I realize that some recipes that little Adam loves might work great for him, but not for older kids or us adults.  Adam is such a good eater that he will eat most anything I serve him (how many toddlers do you know who eat radish salad and Brussel sprouts?)  But I know that the older kids have more complex taste buds, so to label something as "kid friendly" might be a bit misleading if Adam's the taster.

So, I came up with a new category: Toddler-Approved.  These recipes will be something that you can serve to older kids and even adults, but will be more geared toward our littlest ones.  Don't hesitate giving it a taste yourself to see if maybe you found a new favorite!

I wanted to find something to quickly serve Adam in the morning and had a zucchini to use up.  So, of course, zucchini muffins came to mind.  But the real recipe is usually filled with sugar and not that healthy.  So I went on a new favorite food blog, Weelicious.com, and found a healthy version.  Adam loves them so much, he ate 2 full sized ones this morning alone (as I type this, he came running over for another bite!).

The recipe calls for agave nectar, but can also use honey or maple syrup.  I'm assuming you can also use sugar, but regular sugar might not be sweet enough for the limited amount used.   I used maple syrup.

I was out of eggs when I made it, so I used flax seed and water as a substitute.  They came out nicely, but I'll be using eggs or bananas next time.

Hope you and your little ones enjoy!

Zucchini Muffins
Makes 12 muffins (or 24 mini muffins)

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Eggs, whisked
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/3 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
2/3 Cup Agave Nectar (or honey or maple syrup)
1 1/2 Cups Zucchini, shredded (about 2 small zucchini)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Place the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined.
5. Pour the zucchini mixture into large or small muffins cups.
6. Bake 15 minutes for small muffins and 20 minutes for large ones.
7. Cool and serve.