Apple Cider Muffins

We are currently living in my in-laws house, and they happily have 3 or 4 large apple trees in the backyard.  This was one of the things I was most looking forward to, for moving into their house.  Then, last spring, a late frost killed almost all the blossoms on the trees, and we hardly got any apples last fall.  The few we did get had worms, and I was sort of crushed, since I had been envisioning apple pies, dried apple slices and frozen apple sauce to take us through the fall and winter.  

But, my in-laws had a good apple haul in 2016, and had juiced a ton of apples, and frozen the juice.  This is no apple juice from concentrate.  It is a truly transcendent experience to drink this apple juice. But once you defrost it, you have to drink it sort of quickly, so in trying to find ways to use up some leftover juice (because I almost never drink straight apple juice, so it is a little overwhelming in large quantities), I discovered these delicious (and decently healthy) muffins.  They are crumbly, sweet and really tasty.  Definitely worth a try, if you are looking for a semi-healthy snack.  

Apple Cider Muffins:

Adapted from Genius Kitchen

yields 12 muffins

Muffins:

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup wheat flour

1/3 cup turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

3/4 cup apple juice or apple cider

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

Streusel:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

3 Tbs wheat flour

2 tsp cinnamon

3 tbs cold unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces 

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Grease a muffin tin.

For the muffins: 

In a medium bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. 

In a small bowl, melt your oil, then add apple cider and the egg. 

Add all at once to flour mixture and stir until just moistened.  

For the streusel: 

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a small bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives.  

Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin tin.  Sprinkle some streusel over the top of each.  Add another tablespoon of batter on top, and finish with streusel. 

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool slightly, and remove to cool on racks.  These are best the first day.  Enjoy!

SaveSave