Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

I've been searching the internet high and low for good apple recipes since Keith and I went apple picking two weeks ago.  So far, I have baked an apple tart and made cinnamon spiced applesauce, in addition to eating an unnatural amount of fresh apples.  Next up, we have whole wheat apple muffins using both fresh apples and homemade applesauce.  I found a great recipe from smitten kitchen and made a few adjustment to make my low(er) fat version.  I won't lie to you, these were definitely not the butteriest muffins ever, but they still tasted really good, moist and very apple-y.  If you would like the full-indulgence version, checkout the the original recipe.

This is how the muffins looked in the oven after 10 minutes.  I couldn't help it, I had to turn on the oven lights to look inside.  I fought every urge to keep the oven door closed while I looked!

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins
From smitten kitchen, slightly adapted to make the low-fat version

Yield: 12 Muffins

1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup homemade applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed and divided into 1/4 cup portions
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) non-fat yogurt
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 450°F.  Line 12 muffin cups with paper muffin cups and set aside.

Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl.  In a separate medium bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy.  Mix in applesauce.  Add the beaten egg and mix well.  Blend in the yogurt.  Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar on top.  Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes (mine were done after about 8 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack (or any flat surface) to cool completely.

Enjoy!

This post is linked to Greenish Thumb.

Cinnamon Spiced Applesauce

With my first attempt at homemade applesauce, I have now joined the ranks of "people who process and preserve their produce."  Well, maybe I should say semi-joined, or joined as a junior member, since I neither grew the apples myself nor properly canned the applesauce (I opted for the refridgerator version in recycled glass jars).

To make applesauce, I used Cortland apples that Keith and I picked ourselves last weekend from a local orchard.

I can't remember if this is a picture of a Cortland apple, or a Jonathan apple, which I used to make an apple tart/pie.  If you'd like, check out my yesterday's post about apple picking and tart baking.

Since I had never made applesauce before, I looked up a few recipes on the internet and realized that making applesauce is less science (like baking) and more art (like cooking).  So my own improvised version went something like this:

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Cinnamon Spiced Applesauce

5 lbs of apples - peeled, quartered and cored
1 1/4 cups water (or 1/4 cup water per pound of apples)
5 Tablespoons brown sugar (or 1T per pound of apples)
*1 1/4 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used a few generous shakes)

*In retrospect, about 1-2 teaspoon cinnamon would probably suit most people's tastes.

Add all ingredients into a large pot.  Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until apples are very soft.  Remove the pot from heat and mash apples with a potato masher.

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Aside from the slightly tedious chore of peeling and coring apples, which I did by hand with a small knife, making applesauce was surprisingly simple and intuitive.  I only used 1 tablespoon of brown sugar per pound of apples because I wanted very lightly sweetened applesauce.  Sugar can be left out altogether or increased up to four times this amount (probably grocery store level of sweetness at that point) depending on your taste.

The resulting applesauce had a slightly orange/brown tint to it, even more so in this picture due to poor light quality in the kitchen at the time.  I think it's from the brown sugar and/or the amount of cinnamon, because peeled apples are supposed to give you light golden/yellow applesauce.  Next time, I will probably reduce the amount of cinnamon by half and use only about 1-2 teaspoons.  The reason we used so much this time was because Keith was in charge of adding the spices and he LOVES cinnamon.  He thought this batch of applesauce tasted great, but I would prefer somewhat less cinnamon.  I might also try sprinkling in a little bit of ground cloves and allspice to add another depth to the spice flavor.

This applesauce was served warm right after I made it and also cold the next day for after-dinner dessert.  Both times, it was delicious.

Apple Picking and Tart Baking

If I had my druthers, I would grow apples this beautiful and perfect right in my backyard.

However, life does not always let me have what I want, exactly the way I want it.  So, since Keith and I don't have a single fruit tree in our garden, we went apple picking last weekend at a local orchard.  Other people's apples are better than no apples, right?

This orchard is located a little over 20 miles from where we live, and I have to say, I had no idea we lived so close to "country."  It's been almost two years since I've been in Indiana, and granted, I've worked out of state for more than half that time, but it still amazes me every time I see what seems like miles and miles of fields planted with corn or soy so close to "where people live."  It really is a big change from living in ultra-urban compact cities like San Francisco or the sprawling concrete jungle of suburban Los Angeles.

The orchard was beautiful.  Once I got over my initial shock and slight panic at how many apples were lying discarded due to pest damage, rotting or just accidental falling off the tree branch while you're trying to pick another one, I had a lot of fun picking apples.  I heard several parents tell their kids "don't pick up any apples off the ground!"

We ended up picking about 16 lbs of apples of three different varieties: Jonathan, Cortland and Gala.

With 2 lbs of Jonathan apples, I baked a simple apple tart with buttery pie dough made from scratch.  Well, the recipe was for apple tart, but I didn't have a tart pan, so I baked it in a regular pie pan.  It wasn't perfect, but it still made a delicious apple tart/pie. Next time, I may have to break down and get a tart pan so I can bake a proper apple tart.

This post is linked to Tuesday Garden Party.