Apple Cinnamon Muffins..late minute breakfast idea

I love the smell of Cinnamon Apple in the morning. It smells like victory.-Garfield-

Despite my love for muffins, I must confess, I hardly made them at home. Simple, no fuss recipes are all stacked in the dozens of cookbooks that I collect over the years, yet, these little cuties were usually bought than baked at home. Disgrace! I know. Every me I grabbed a muffin from the Coffee Bean when I need my morning dose of coffee, I would make note to self, to get up a wee bit earlier and quickly whisk a batter that would produce a batch of muffins that could be enjoyed by the rest of the family. Oh wishes, how lovely they are, yet in bleary-eyed mornings when I was always in a rush, muffins seem to be the last thing in mind.

Probably more driven by the enthusiasm to feed Couscous, I decided to throw in food/fruits that she likes and bring in more variety to her breakfast. I stumbled upon this lovely site, and somehow the gorgeous looking muffins lured me to the kitchen to make this wonderful batch of goodness. Again and again. They were just amazing. Couscous loves them, which is a big deal for me, as she can be a fussy eater!

Cinnamon and apples are good pairing, marriage made in heaven. But what gave these muffins a notch up in my book is the addition of brown sugar. Crusted cinnamon sugar which brings back good memories of cinnamon sugar pretzels and churros. I am crazy about cinnamon sugar, and I believe I am not the only one!


The recipe also calls for yogurt and apple sauce, which is a bonus if these muffins are served for kids, bring on the fruit and dairy intake, in any form. As Couscous was introduced to (and loves!) homemade yogurt and homemade applesauce since 6 months old, I have been generously making them on weekly basis. More often than not, my bakes tend to incorporate the yogurt as I think they do enhance the softness of cakes and muffins.


If you are in the mad morning rush, fret not, these muffins are ready in less than half an hour, and creates such a lovely start to the morning. So put your pinny on and let's start baking!

Apple Cinnamon muffins

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
170g plain yogurt
1 large red Gala apple-diced
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup raisins

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare the applesauce. In a small dutch oven, cook the apple with 1 tsp sugar, cinnamon stick and 3 tbsp water. Cook on medium heat until apple pieces are soft and almost mushy. Discard the cinnamon stick, pulse the apple pieces until they become pureed. Keep aside.
2. Cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, yogurt, applesauce and vanilla and continue whisking for few more minutes.
3. Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Sift the mixture into the batter, combine all the ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon, raisins and brown sugar. Mix half of the portion into the batter.
5. Spoon the batter into muffin cases until up to 3/4 full. Sprinkle the raisin-cinnamon sugar on top of the muffins.
6. Bake the muffins for around 18 minutes until skewer comes out clean.
7. Cool slightly on wire rack and serve whilst still warm. Enjoy your breakfast!