Apple Pie Muffins

I really wanted a muffin the other day.  I mean, REALLY wanted one.  But I wasn't sure what I had on hand to make them with.  In my true "why not" fashion, I decided to invent my own recipe.  I do this often with cooking, but that is much, much easier than with baking.  I did look at a few muffin recipes I have to get an idea of how much liquid, flour, baking powder, etc. that I wanted so that helped.  Anyways, they turned out so yummy on the first try that the 2 dozen I made were gone in one day!!!  (I must admit, I probably ate like 7 of them myself- but no judging, I'm like 9 months pregnant people!)
So here is my recipe.  Enjoy!

APPLE PIE MUFFINS- makes about 2 dozen muffins
 Ingredients:
1/2 cup (one stick) butter, room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 6oz container vanilla yogurt (or plain would work) *Note- I had a reader try Greek yogurt in this recipe and her muffins turned out dense, so you might want to stick with regular yogurt!
1 large fuji apple, cut into small cubes (method below) or two small apples
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tsp cinnamon
Garnishes- wheat germ, and turbinado sugar

Use the real stuff-its better!!!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix together room temperature butter and sugar.  Then beat in egg.  After that, add in the apple sauce and yogurt.

We get local eggs- they are so much fresher!

In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients, except garnishes.  Stir well to combine, then add to wet ingredients and stir.
Add in your apple last.  Here is how to cut them fast!

Make four cuts to slice off the "meat" of the apple.  You should be left with a square core.

Slice each of those into 1/4" thick slices.

Lay those slices on their sides, and cut them into thirds.

Then dice them up into cubes.

After the apples are mixed in, put the batter into your muffin pan.  I used liners with non-stick spray since this is really apple-heavy and it helped them not stick.

Sprinkle each muffin with wheat germ (adds folate and a nice nutty flavor) and turbinado sugar.

Then they are ready for the oven!

Keep an eye on them since every oven is different and muffins can finish pretty fast.  About 15 minutes should do it though.  You will know they are done when you push gently on the center and it springs back.  If it leaves a dent, they need to stay in a bit longer.

Now the best part- EAT THEM!!! LJ had a little buddy over for a playdate, and I had to send some home with him because he loved them so much!

Blowing on her hot muffin- but she didn't want to wait!

Hmm, how can I get MORE muffins? (thought going through Jack's head and the doggie's head)

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Thanks!