Okay, okay, okay... finally got around to the muffins!

...and the applesauce, though that isn't finished yet, so I can't judge on the taste, but it smells AWESOME in my house right now.

David and Gwen were good little helpers in the kitchen today. Since I didn't have to flour any surfaces, the mess was minimal and they were able to help me pour, stir, and as far as Gwen goes, taste the flour.

The muffins are whole wheat apple muffins. There are two cups of apples and a teaspoon of cinnamon in them, so they're very autumny! (Yes, that is a word). I sprinkled oats on the top of them, and they came out very pretty!

Look at all of those apple chunks! Freakin' yum! There is more whole wheat flour than AP in this recipe (1 1/4 cup WW, 1 cup AP), but the texture is delightfully light. I shredded one cup of the apples, and chunked the other cup, so the apple flavor is all throughout. David ate one, and this is his reaction:

Right from the mouth of the critic: "Mom, these are my best muffins EVER!" (He sometimes says "best" instead of "favorite;" that means whatever he's referring to is super-mega-awesome.)

For the applesauce, I peeled and quartered the apples (ten medium-sized Ohio apples.. I have no idea what kind they were, Phil just brought them to me at my request, but they smelled incredible.) The apples were super sweet naturally, which is awesome, because I don't think I'll have to add ANY sugar at all! I put a teaspoon of cinnamon in them, as well. Man, I love cinnamon so much.

Anyway, I had been told that it is easiest to just pop the apples into a crockpot and let them go, but I LOVE my Visions pots, so I thought I'd try it out in one of those first.

They smell so good. Once they're really soft, I'll run them through the Ninja for a few seconds to get it to the applesauce texture that my kids are used to. I am so excited to have fresh applesauce for them! I will add a photo once it's all done.

UPDATE: The applesauce is awesome. My Ninja blended it to just the right consistency and the kids are gobbling it up. David said it is better than the store-kind!

Now, I have a ton of bananas that will be super ripe in a couple of days. I'm thinking some banana muffins are in our future, too! I'm not a fan, but I know David and Gwen will like them, and all of this is for them, anyway :) I'll have to see how well these apple muffins freeze to see if it's worth doubling the batch the next time.


For those of you interested in the muffin recipe!

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used regular, since muffins are more dense)
1 cup AP flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 cup half and half (or buttermilk, if you like that)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 t vanilla
2 cups apple (one cup shredded, one cup diced small)

In one bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, mix wet ingredients. Add dry to wet in batches, careful not to over-stir. Add apples at the end. Pour into muffin tin. The batter can be almost to the top-- these don't puff up a ton! I sprinkled quick oats on top, just to pretty them up :) Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.