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

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