apples – BIG EATS tiny kitchen

Apples are here! And these Gluten Free Apple Spice Muffins are healthy, delicious, moist, and sweet.

Similar to the way people are feeling about post season baseball around here is the way I feel about Apple Season.

APPLE SEASON is Post Season to me! Am I right? Let’s get pumped, people! Summer is over and HELLOOOOO apples. Crunchy, juicy, sweet/tart Apples.

I could seriously OD on apples more than chocolate… weird, huh? Seriously, I can’t be the only one who has fantasies about going apple picking and bringing home loads of perfect apples and then baking them up in pies, muffins, cobblers, a la mode, cinnamon-spiked applesauce, or, hell, just eating them fresh ALL the TIME. I’m drooling right now.

I also have to admit that I get SO overwhelmed with all the apple varieties. Holy pooh on a stick! How can you choose? I’m on the hunt for some interesting varieties this year. Here in Missouri, there are lots of apple orchards that allow you to pick your own. I’m a big fan of the local varieties of Jonathan, Ozark Gold, Goldrush, and Enterprise. These varieties are good for eating and baking, having sweet/tart flavors with plenty of crunch. They don’t mush up when baked, which is a plus as well.

I used a combination of Jonathan and Golden Delicious when I baked up these luscious Gluten Free Apple Spice Muffins, but any variety should be fine. However, depending on the quality of apples you have access to, the final flavor will vary slightly.

I used a combination of two flours: gluten free oat flour and almond flour. I really like the balance of these two flours in muffins. The combo of these flours provide both fiber and protein, which are perfect for beginning your morning and staying satiated longer. And you get a great fall spice treat to start your day.

I used an interesting technique with these muffins. Instead of using store-bought applesauce, I created my own by pureeing one of the three apples in a food processor. After it was pureed, I then added the remaining two apples to the bowl of the food processor and pulsed the apples until they were chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, you can sub 1/2-cup of applesauce for one of the apples.

And let’s also talk about this Walnut-Oat Streusel topping. Walnuts, oats, maple…mmmmm. You mustn’t skimp on this step, friends. Noo no no. Do this. I typically don’t top my muffins (because I’m lazy). But I took the extra 2 minutes (seriously…why do I not do this) and holy mama was it worth it.

Gluten Free Apple Spice Muffins

Servings: 12
Time: 30 minutes prep / 40 minutes cook
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
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Gluten Free Apple Spice Muffins Ingredients

2 cups gluten free oat flour (ground from gluten free rolled oats or use Bob’s Red Mill gluten free oat flour)
1 cup almond flour (I use Honeyville)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 medium apples, cored and sliced in quarters
1/3 cup greek yogurt (or dairy free yogurt)
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons butter, melted (or coconut oil)
4 eggs (at room temperature)

Walnut-Oat Streusel Topping Ingredients

1/3 cup rolled gluten free oats
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line or grease a 12-muffin tin with liners and set aside.
Place dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Combine Walnut-Oat Streusel topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, place pieces of one apple, greek yogurt, maple syrup, melted butter, and eggs. Puree mixture until smooth. Add remaining pieces of two apples and pulse until the apples are in small chunks. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir mixture until just combined.
Scoop 1/3-cup of batter into each lined muffin tin to 3/4 full. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly on each muffin. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until muffins are browned and cooked all the way through. Remove from oven. After 15 minutes, move muffins to a cooling rack.

My man and I just celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary last month.

Nine! Where did time go?

I am utterly surprised that my husband still looks at me with amazingly bright eyes and is still in love with me. For some reason he likes being married to a neurotic woman with an obsession for ketchup and oatmeal. Not together…separate. Anyways I digress, I really think I got the better end of the deal. He is definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me. Well, except at 5am when he sings random songs like “Highway to Hell” or “Baby Got Back”. (Really…we should have no singing rules until well after 8am, right? Right? or at LEAST after coffee!)

But honestly, anniversaries like this remind me that time is passing so quickly. I hope that I can breathe in as many details of my life and not take things for granted. I want to laugh more and not take things so seriously. (Except the singing before 8am…I take that very seriously.)

For our anniversary, my husband got me a Vitamix (the ridiculously amazing and over-the-top blender that does everything that you ever imagined, including make creamy nut butter, process ice cream, puree smooooooth soups, grind fine flours, clean your house, complement your hair, and check your email). This blender is sheer madness!!!! She’s like a personal assistant…that is also your best friend and doesn’t annoy you…ever.

What was one of the first things I did with my Vitamix? No smoothies. I made oat flour and then made carrot and apple muffins. Ya, you heard me…muffins. Real muffins, not smoothie muffins. Well…I didn’t bake the muffins in the Vitamix. C’mon! Ridiculous. That’s the next version…the easy bake Vitamix.

I created these quick gluten-free carrot and apple muffins by placing chunks of carrots and apples in the bottom of the high-speed blender and slowly processing them until they were finely shredded. It took 15 seconds! SECONDS! And you save your fingers! This step could also be done in a food processor, or with a grater. But it won’t take 15 seconds….maybe 1 minute more. Not bad at all.

The resulting muffins are moist and delicate. They are perfect for breakfast. You could even top them with a cream cheese frosting and serve them as cupcakes for dessert. I will definitely be turning this recipe into a cake soon. Especially since I can cut down the prep time with my blender!

Needless to say, although I thought that these high-speed blenders were a bit over the top, I’m not complaining that this beauty is now sitting on my counter waiting for me to make my next magical concoction.

Gluten Free Carrot-Apple Muffins

Servings: 9
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Medium
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Ingredients

2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium apples, cored and cut into eighths
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter), melted
1/3 cup greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup oat flour (from ground gluten-free rolled oats)
1/2 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup walnut pieces

Instruction

Preheat oven to 350F. Place muffin liners in 9 cups of a muffin tin. Set aside.
Place carrots and apples in the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender. Process on low until carrot and apple are diced into fine pieces. Add eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, greek yogurt, and vanilla to food processor or blender. Process or pulse until everything is well mixed.
Place all dry ingredients (except walnuts) in a separate large bowl and whisk together. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients in the large bowl. Stir all together until just mixed and no dry ingredients remain. Stir in walnuts.
Spoon about 1/4-cup portions into each muffin tin liner. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 350F, or until a toothpick comes out clean when stuck into the center of a muffin. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3 days. May be frozen for up to 3 months.

Note – Recipe adapted from Edible Perspectives.