Guilt-Reduced Apple Pie Muffins - Part Two

Maybe I'm basic, maybe I'm a typical "white girl," or maybe there's just something incredibly infectious about indulging in the beauty of an apple orchard and pumpkin patch on a sunny fall day. 

There's no question about it, the number of photo ops at a pumpkin patch are abundant, but more than just finding the perfect Instagram shot to smack a filter onto before anxiously awaiting "likes" from the masses, I love my family's annual tradition of going to St. Andrews Scenic Acres for apple and pumpkin picking because it's just that, a tradition. My mom and I have been visiting the Milton farm for as long as I can remember, and each year as the first Fall chill permeates the air, I feel that same familiar stir to escape the bustle of the busy city and head into the country to appreciate the most striking season that our beautiful province has to offer. 

With a large bounty of Cortland apples in our bags, and a successful day of farm-photo-ops behind us, inspiration for Fall apple recipes was running high. For weeks those farm-fresh apples found their way into pies, salads, tarts, and what has been my favourite, Guilt-Reduced Apple Pie Muffins. 

You may recall in July of 2012 when I first made my Guilt-Reduced Apple Pie Muffins as a compromise to making apple pie, something I had never had much success with. I adapted a recipe for dessert-worthy muffins, giving it a healthier twist with the addition of whole wheat flour and apple sauce and reducing the amount of sugar. Though these muffins are still reminiscent of a moist apple cake, with their doughy interior and crispy crumble topping, their healthy spin make these babies perfect for a quick breakfast or snack on the go!

Side Note:

With a new fancy camera slung around my neck, I couldn't help but want to capture a new shot of the muffins to show how much I've learned and grown as a photographer in these past few years. I still have so much to learn and lots of practice to take part in, but I'm so incredibly proud of how far I've come, so much so that I couldn't help but take it personally when I recently brought my new camera out with me as I joined a group of girls for an afternoon get together. The moment I pulled out my camera (that still feels like a foreign object in my hand as I continue to learn its many intricacies) I heard a chorus of "oh so that's how she get's such good photos." Ouch. After nearly a year of working hard (yes, working) on perfecting my food photos, immersing myself in research, experimentation, note taking, and lots and lots of practice, I found it pretty offensive to have people credit my art to being a result of having an expensive piece of technology in my hand. Yes, my new camera has done wonders for my photography already, but guess what, for all these years I have been using a point and shoot and have gotten nearly the same results. I'm sure it wasn't meant as a dig, for all I know that could have been their way of complimenting me, but it felt pretty crappy. 

Ingredients:

Topping

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Muffins

1 cup + 2 Tbsp loosely-packed brown sugar

2/3 cup apple sauce

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

3 cups shredded firm and tart apples

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Make the muffin topping by stirring together brown sugar with flour, rolled oats, melted butter, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl whisk together brown sugar, apple sauce, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
4. In a separate large bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Some of the whole grains may get caught in the sifter so just toss the remnants in with the rest of the flour after. 
5. Stir wet mixture into dry mixture, alternating with buttermilk. Fold in shredded apples, until just combined.
6. Evenly scoop batter into a prepared muffin tin (greased or lined with paper muffin liners) so that the batter reaches 3/4 of the way up the cup. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

Listening To:

Drake - Hotline Bling

Empty-The-Freezer Banana Nut Muffins

Happy new year, dear readers! I hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday season and have already kicked off 2015 to a great start! I have spent the majority of 2015 laying on my couch being a nasty mucous monster (apologies for giving you such a gross visual on a food blog, of all places) and coughing up a storm to my not-so-new roommates delight (that's right friends, I have updates!). I, like it seems most people in Toronto as of late, have been struck with a vicious two-week long cold, leaving me largely immobile, lazy, and indulging in lots of self pity for my very gross and stuffed-up state. 

Over the last few days, as my energy has begun to come back and I've started to feel like a real human again, I've had a lot of time to reflect on this past year, looking at what I've accomplished, what I had hoped to accomplish, and what I want out of this new year. Just like many new years of past, I once again have vowed to myself to focus more on my blog, putting as much of my creative energy into it as possible. I know, for the past while I have totally fallen off the grid in terms of Ginger Rose, focusing my time and energy on an exciting new project (hello Kraft Food Hacks!) as well as a wonderful new living situation, that has allowed me to fall asleep and wake up with a smile on my face just about every single day. 

In October I moved into a beautiful condo with the man I love, which has given me a much needed fresh start as I begin a new phase of my life. This is the first time in my life that I have not lived under my mothers (and best friends!) roof, which, let me tell you, feels so incredibly liberating! Don't get me wrong, living with my mom was so lovely in so many ways, but being able to have this new sense of freedom and responsibility, while living side-by-side with my incredible boyfriend, Chris, has been amazing! 

I could go on and on listing all of the things that I adore about living on my own, but they would come as no surprise. The real surprise for me was discovering just how much I enjoy taking care of my own space, my own home. I love being able to take pride in having a clean, tidy, and stylish home that I am always so thrilled to welcome guests into. I look forward to coming home and fluffing the pillows and wiping the kitchen counter, just to stand back and view my space with the same satisfaction as receiving an 'A' on a University paper. Thank goodness Chris shares this same value or I would surely come across as some sort of psycho killer. Just like myself, Chris views maintaining our space as a fun activity that we can take part in together, almost like a real life game of Tetris. 

Last week, as 2014 was coming to a close, both Chris and I were feeling the need to rearrange parts of our space, giving it the same fresh start we knew we both needed this year. The first step in our mission was to tackle the freezer, going through each and every nook and cranny to eliminate all of the nonsense and organize the remnants of what was left. What was left was a drawer full of over 10 frozen bananas (are we monkeys?!), 4 containers of pecans, 3 bags of coconut, 2 bags of chocolate chips, and oh so very much more. There was no doubt about it, banana muffins were in order! 

I quickly found a simple and delicious-sounding banana muffin recipe that would allow me to use up as much of the bananas, coconut, and nuts from the freezer as physically possible. The muffins turned out incredible, with a sweet crumble topping giving the muffins a wonderful crunch, and nuts and chocolate chips in every bite! 

What are you hoping to accomplish this year? 

* This will allow your muffins to be extra moist!

Recipe adapted from hiddenponies.com

Ingredients:
Muffins:
6 bananas, very ripe 
2 eggs
1 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pecans, chopped and lightly toasted 
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Crumble Topping:
4 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2/3 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the bananas and blend at medium-speed until mashed. 
3. Add the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla and blend well to combine. 
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 
5. With the mixer on low, add in the flour mixture in 4 increments, until just blended.  Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips by hand. 
6. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 of the way up with the muffin batter. Fill any empty muffin cups half way with water.*
7. In a small bowl mix together the crumble topping ingredients. Top each muffin evenly with the crumble topping and bake for 17-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Enjoy!

Listening To:
Caribou - Our Love

Guilt-Reduced Apple Pie Muffins

My mom has always been the pie-maker in the family, always there for each and every season to bring a sweet and delicious fruity creation to our table. A skill she must have picked up from my pie-making grandmother, my mom makes all of my favourite pies including apple, peach, strawberry, blueberry, and an assortment of other mixed fruit creations that drive me wild! Since being promoted at her job, my mom has had less and less time to make pies, and I've had to step up my baking game to keep my family's sweet tooth satisfied. Having never had any luck with pie-making myself, I wasn't exactly looking forward to trying my hand at rolling out that dough that never seems to fit the pie plate. How come the pies that I've made never look like the picture perfect creations you see in magazines and on TV? And how come my mom seems to be able to replicate those beautiful fluted edges with such ease while I complain and struggle? I'll never understand it.

Some may say I gave up at this point, but I choose to think of it as "adapting". Instead of going through what I consider to be agony, struggling to roll out that darned pie dough, I decided to switch up the recipe. I wanted to keep the same flavours that you find in a traditional apple pie, but get rid of the labour and mess (just imagine all that flour and dough stuck to your countertop!) that comes with preparing the dough. Being so incredibly sick of the pub food that I get 50% off of at work, I also liked the idea of making a sweet snack that I can take to work with me so I wouldn't have to eat another frozen chicken finger. After doing some research I decided to make Food.com's recipe for Apple Pie Muffins, but get rid of the guilt that comes along with eating pie, by swapping out some ingredients and adjusting the flavours and textures to my liking. The muffins turned out great! Despite being "guilt-reduced", my Apple Pie Muffins totally satisfied my apple pie craving as a late night snack, as well as being the perfect little sweet treat to munch on at work! I also loved that I could happily eat a second muffin without feeling that same guilt that comes along with eating a second helping of pie. So say farewell to the dreaded rolling pin this time around, and make life a little easier and sweeter for yourself and whip up a batch of my Guilt-Reduced Apple Pie Muffins! 

Note: This recipe was updated on October 27, 2015. Click here to see the updated recipe!

Recipe adapted from Food.com
Ingredients:
Topping
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Muffins
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup apple sauce
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups shredded firm and tart apples, with a bit of lemon juice squeezed on top

Directions:

1. Make the muffin topping by stirring together the brown sugar, all-purpose flour, rolled oats, melted butter, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the brown sugar, oil, apple sauce, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl sift together the all-purpose flour, whole grain flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Some of the whole grains from the flour may get caught in the sifter so just toss those remnants in with the rest of the flour after. 
4. Stir oil mixture into flour mixture alternately with buttermilk.
5. Fold in the shredded apples, until just combined.
6. Using a retractable ice cream scoop, spoon in the batter into a lined muffin tin so that the cups are almost full.
7. Sprinkle the topping evenly over all of the muffins and bake in a 350º oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Listening To:

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home

Powered by mp3skull.com

Healthy Blueberry Muffins

Summer is upon us, and that means the abundance of fresh Ontario produce is upon us as well! You can always tell what's in season by just taking a quick glance around my kitchen. My mom is always aware of what produce is in season and makes sure to take advantage by stocking up each time she makes a trip to the grocery store. Looking around my kitchen now I can see beets, strawberries, broccoli, cherries, and of course blueberries! Blueberries are one of my favourite fruits simply because I associate blueberries with so many delicious foods. Blueberry pie, blueberry pancakes, blueberry crumb cake, blueberry danish...oh my lord I could keep going and going! Yesterday, when I found my fridge stocked with massive bulk-sized containers of blueberries, I knew it was time to preheat the oven and come up with a new baked blueberry recipe!

Because I've been exercising daily for the past month or so, I wanted to make something on the healthier side so I wouldn't feel so bad when I went back for seconds...or thirds...or hey who's counting? I'll take one more! I decided to make a healthy version of blueberry muffins with whole wheat flour, applesauce, and rolled oats, which not only made my muffins healthier but also amped up the flavour. Whole wheat flour gave my muffins a nuttier flavour as well as a bit of texture, the applesauce made the muffins moist and gave an underlying apple flavour, and the oats gave my crumble topping a bit of a crunch. I was surprised by just how delicious these muffins turned out! Moist, flavourful, with that crunch from the topping, I can't imagine ever going back to plain old white batter muffins. With healthy muffins that taste this good, I promise you, you'll forget all about your old blueberry muffin recipe!

Note: This is a great recipe to bring up to the cottage because it doesn't require any special mixers or blenders, just a spoon, bowl, and muffin tin!

Tip: Tossing your blueberries in a couple tablespoons of flour will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of your muffins as they bake.

Tip: If you want to make this recipe even more healthy, use all whole wheat flour and cut the white sugar in the muffin batter down to 2/3 cup. The muffins are pretty sweet, so cutting back won't hurt the flavour.

Makes 8 large muffins
Ingredients:

Muffin Batter

3/4 cup whole wheat all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white all-purpose flour + 2 tbsp

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup applesauce

1 egg

1/3 milk (1% cuts back on the fat but delivers the same results as higher fat milk)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup fresh blueberries 

Topping:

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp white all-purpose flour

2 tbsp cold butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp rolled oats

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º and line muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a medium-large mixing bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, white flour, sugar, salt and baking powder for the muffin batter.

3. In a 1-cup measuring cup pour in the applesauce. Crack the egg into the applesauce and top with enough milk to fill the cup. Add this into the dry ingredients along with the vanilla extract. Stir until almost just combined. Toss the blueberries with a couple tablespoons of flour to coat and gently stir them into the batter until just combined. Do not over mix!

4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop muffin batter into paper liners in muffin tin with the batter just reaching the top.

4. In a small bowl make the crumble topping. Using your hands, mix together the brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, and rolled oats. Evenly sprinkle the topping over each muffin and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Listening To:

Arcade Fire - Ocean of Noise

Powered by mp3skull.com

Pear Muffins with Streusel Topping

Many of my food memories have to do with family, and most of my family food memories have to do with my Oma (grandmother in German).  There is no doubt that the woman takes the title of Queen when it comes to the kitchen.  In the house that my mother grew up in and, quite frankly, I grew up quite a lot in as well, they had a big beautiful pear tree in the backyard.  Ill be honest, I didn't exactly appreciate that pear tree then.  The joy that I got out of the tree wasn't in the realm of food or any culinary adventures.  There was a lot more pear throwing fights, tree climbing, and pear "perfume" making (don't even ask!).  Now that I'm older, my appreciation for homegrown food has grown immensely, and I am now able to find the joy of a pear tree that doesn't include cuts and bruises.  My Oma is now living in a new home that we have all filled with new memories, and even a new pear tree!  So when my Oma brought me a big bag of freshly picked pears on the weekend, I began my hunt for a great pear recipe.  

I have been visiting the Rouxbe Cooking School website daily for the past while, yet I have not tried any of their recipes yet.  So a bag of fresh pears felt like the proper occasion to do so.  Here I have made Rouxbe's Pear Muffins with Streusel Topping.  The muffins are moist and light, with juicy chunks of pear throughout, complemented by sweet cinnamon.  The streusel topping makes these muffins extra tasty and gives them the versatility to be served as both breakfast and dessert items.  Enroll with Rouxbe to gain access to view the amazing video recipe tutorial. 

Ingredients:

Muffins

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp cold butter

1 to 1 1/2 fresh pears

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400º. 

2.  In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until blended.  Whisk in the sour cream and oil until smooth and set aside.

3.  Sift all of the dry muffin ingredients into a large bowl.

4.  In a separate small bowl, mix together the streusel topping ingredients and combine with a pastry knife or fork.  Combine until the mixture becomes coarse crumbs.  Set aside.

5.  Peel, core, and cut 1 to 1 1/2 pears into about 1/2 inch dice.  

6.  Pour the wet muffin ingredients into the dry and gently stir just until almost combined.  Gently fold in the cut pears.

7.  Scoop the batter into a lined or greased muffin tin and top each evenly with streusel topping.

8.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  

Banana Nut Muffins

Sarah, Dan, Lee-Anne, and I (Danielle Rose) at the Barn Bash

This past weekend I went on a bit of a road trip with some friends to Chisholm Ontario for my friend Lee-Anne's Family's Barn Bash.  The drive up to Chisholm takes about 4 hours (although we skillfully made it in 3) so I knew that we would need some snacks for the drive up.  Chips are a given for any road trip, so I wanted to make something sweet to bring along as well.  I thought these banana muffins would be perfect! Muffins are travel friendly, and the banana makes them satisfying, the nuts add additional flavour and health benefits, and the streusel topping adds an extra hint of sweetness. The muffins were a hit just as the Barn Bash was!  As much as I love these muffins, they don't compare to the love that I felt for my friends this past weekend.  It was an experience I will never forget! 

Note: The streusel topping is the same one that is used for a fruit crisp.  Use any leftover topping to bake on top of fresh fruit.

Tip: If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute it with milk with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar added.

Ingredients:

Muffin Batter

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 medium ripe banana

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 cups flour

1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup butter, cut in chunks

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup flour

Directions:

1.  In a food processor, pulse together all ingredients for streusel topping until crumbly .  Set aside.

2.  Mash the banana to desired consistency.  You may choose to leave some of the banana intact.

3.  Mix together the mashed banana with butter, eggs, sugar, buttermilk and vanilla.

4.  In a separate bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, walnuts, and pecans.

5.  Mix the wet and dry ingredients together JUST until combined.  DO NOT over-mix!

6.  Pour into greased or lined muffin tins and top with desired amount of streusel topping. Bake at 400ºF for 18-20 minutes.

Strawberry Crumble Muffins

Roll up the Rim is over kids, so there's no excuse to go out to buy your coffee and muffin this morning!  Nows the time to start saving your money and making things at home so that your bank account will be nice and stocked when it comes time for summer when you're going to want to be out and about every night and day...which we all know means spending lots of money! Your best bet for making coffee at home is by buying whole beans and grinding them yourself.  Trust me, after a week you'll forget all about your large double double!  Pair your morning coffee with these muffins, which are sure to become your new favourite! These muffins are incredibly moist, so don't even think about adding extra butter, because these babies are spectacular on their own.  The little bits of strawberry in every bite add bursts of flavour and sweetness, and the crumb topping will have you thinking about your favourite coffee cake.  This muffin is a variation on a cake recipe, so these would make also a delicious dessert.

Tip: Mothers Day is coming up! How great would these look on the table for your Mother's Day brunch?

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour

1 1/4 cup sugar

3/4 butter, cut in chunks

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberriess, cut into small pieces

Directions:

1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer or food processor, combine flour, sugar, and butter until small crumbs are formed.  Take out 1 cup of the crumb mixture and set aside.

2.  In a separate bowl, add baking soda to sour cream or yogurt and stir to dissolve.  The mixture will begin to froth up, so do not be alarmed.  Add baking powder and eggs to the mixer or processor bowl, along with the sour cream mixture.  

3.  stir these together JUST until combined.  Carefully stir in the strawberries, always making sure not to over mix.  Fill muffin tin with batter, and top each one with the reserved crumb mixture.

4.  Bake in a 375º oven for 20-25 minutes, or until crumb topping is slightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.