Today’s is a two-part recipe. These applesauce muffins can easily be made with store-bought applesauce, but making your own is so easy and fun that I thought I’d include that recipe, too. Click on over for crockpot applesauce instructions, and when you’re ready, come back here for the baking!
After we’d been enjoying our applesauce for about a week, I felt overwhelmed by how much we still had left and wondered how I could use some up. I came across a simple muffin recipe on Williams-Sonoma and made a few alterations. Ding ding ding! I left out walnuts (because I don’t like them) and raisins (because David LOATHES them) and used a mini muffin tin instead of a regular sized one. I also added vanilla to the batter to make the flavor a bit more mellow and warm, and included a cinnamon-sugar topping for crunch and a touch of sparkle. The result is adorable, autumnal treats that make a great snack, dessert, or sweet treat at breakfast. They are also great to bring to an event or get-together as they travel well and are just so cute!
Applesauce Mini-Muffins from Williams-Sonoma
makes about 36 mini-muffins
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 generous cup of applesauce (Williams-Sonoma advises measuring this not in a one-cup measure but in a glass measuring cup, like a Pyrex)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cinnamon sugar for topping (Note: We have an entire shaker of cinnamon sugar just sitting in our cabinet because David eats a lot of cinnamon toast. If you don’t have some around, combine 1/4 cup regular sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon powder. This will make enough for the muffin toppings plus some extra that you can keep in a jar for cinnamon toast or for sprinkling on oatmeal or applesauce.)
Directions :
Preheat your oven to 350* F and butter a mini muffin tin (or regular muffin tin)
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Create a well in the bottom of the mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, egg, vanilla, and applesauce.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients. Stir; this will take some muscle and seem at first like there are too many dry ingredients, but be persistent. Don’t overmix — stir until just combined.
Spoon mixture into muffin tin, filling each well between halfway and three-quarters full.
Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on top of each mini muffin.
Bake for about 10 – 12 minutes if in a mini muffin tin or 25 – 30 in a regular tin, or until a toothpick (or in my case, skewer, as I can’t find the toothpicks…) comes out of the center of a muffin clean.
Let cool at least 5 minutes and enjoy!
These smelled SO GOOD while they were baking. I mean, I thought the applesauce had smelled great but this was next level. The cinnamon sugar topping adds a touch of crunch to these otherwise very moist muffins. They store well in an airtight container for up to a week. But they’re so cute and easy to pop in your mouth that they probably won’t make it that long anyway. 😉
Note on why mini muffins : I just love mini muffins…they are so cute, and it feels like I’ve accomplished more because there are so many MORE muffins. Plus, they’re more versatile. You can have like 4 if you want a big ol’ muffin, but if you just want a teeny snack, these fit the bill too, thus increasing the number of times per day that you can eat the muffins…brilliant, right?
A final note : it is 100% okay to use store-bought applesauce for this recipe! I’d recommend buying applesauce with no sugar added, as sugar-added applesauce + the sugar in the muffin recipe might make them overly sweet.
Sunny Skied Laura 