Nom-Able

There are few things in this world that I’m guaranteed to do on any sort of regular basis. I have no set day to do the laundry, though I try to get it done on Saturdays, nor to buy groceries, though this too tends to fall on Saturday. In that sense, I’m completely unreliable, except in one area: Sunday morning muffin baking. You see, I never make breakfast on weekdays; I’m something of a bed bug and will have to be kicked, pulled, and otherwise pried from between the sheets on any given day in which I have to go to work. By the third time I’ve hit snooze, I’ll have ten more minutes of sleep, followed by just enough time to frantically run into the bathroom to shower, to the bedroom to dress, to the kitchen for coffee, and finally out the door.

As such, I usually experience a significant sugar crash midday, and have tried to figure out ways to make sure I get breakfast into my angry but sleepy morning body, and muffins — whipped together on Sunday and then pre-bagged in Ziplock baggies for a grab-and-go breakfast throughout the week — are the perfect thing to fill my morning void.

As usual, I couldn’t leave well enough alone and added some ground flaxseed meal to the recipe for some extra wholesomeness. Because something just seems very wrong about eating a muffin that tastes like it could be a dessert. And oh, these could be a dessert. If anything went wrong, though, it was probably due to the flaxseed, or my use of a KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer instead of using a spoon and blending things by hand. Either of those changes could explain why I didn’t get the “apple pie filling in the center of the muffin” like the book promises.

Apple Pie-Crumb Cake Muffins

FOR MUFFINS:

• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. + 2 tblsp sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 c. apple cider
• 1/3 c. canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. grated apple.
• 1/2 c. chopped apple (1/4″ pieces)

FOR TOPPING

• 1/4 c. all purpose flour
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp canola oil.

Instructions:

1. Prepare the topping by mixing all the dry topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Drizzle the oil in while mixing with your fingertips until crumbs form. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees; lightly grease a twelve-muffin tin. (For portability purposes, I use cupcake papers)
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Create a well in the center and add the apple cider, oil, and vanilla. Mix, then fold in the grated and chopped apple. (I used my KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer on the “stir” setting.)
4. Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full. Sprinkle the crumb topping over each muffin. Bake for 22 minutes.