Applesauce Muffins

Hello Hello!

Ashley again; are you sick of me yet? I hope not because it’s my favorite season and there is no shortage of fall recipes for me to share! Did you like the maple pecan cookies? Today I bring you a recipe for applesauce muffins. These are super easy to make and freeze well! If you take one out in the morning, they’re ready to eat for a mid-morning work snack. Or you can pop one in a convection oven for a few minutes to heat up.

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Applesauce Muffins

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon melted butter
• Cinnamon sugar mixture

1. Cream together the butter and sugar until very well blended (remember, you want to “punch” holes in the butter). Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the applesauce. The batter will look a little weird.
2. Now mix in the wheat germ and oats. [Remember how I got up on my soapbox about wheat germ? Still applies here 🙂 ] Of course, these are both optional. If you don’t want to add them in, just add another 1/4 cup of flour.
3. I now switch from an electric beater or mixer to hand stirring with a spatula.
4. Add in a cup of the flour (after doing my very scientific “sifting” method) and mix for about 5 turns.
5. In the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, mix together the baking powder and salt. Add to the batter, but do not mix.
6. Sprinkle in the cinnamon (I usually end up adding more because I love the flavor, so do it to taste). Stir together until just combined. Do not overmix!! Once you don’t see any white clumps or streaks you’re done. Your batter will be lumpy, this means it will not be tough!
7. Spoon into a non-stick muffin tin  (or spray with cooking spray if it’s not non-stick) about 3/4 quarters of the way up. You can also use cupcake liners, but I don’t like to. I think it bakes up a little differently; and besides, you won’t want to waste any of the muffin on the liners when you peel them off. The batter will make 12 muffins.
8. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
9. While they’re baking, melt 1 T of butter. In a separate bowl, make a cinnamon sugar mixture. I usually do about 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, but do it to taste.
10. After the muffins have cooled slightly, remove from the tins (you may need to run a butter knife around the edges). Dip the tops in the melted butter and then the cinnamon sugar mixture.

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Enjoy!