I was responsible for snack at the boys’ soccer game today, so I brought up a bunch of sliced-up oranges and a batch of these muffins. The team made short work of both. I was very impressed with the muffins. They were quite moist and very tasty. They’re a great way to get apples into my non-fruit-eating son.  All four of my boys loved these muffins. I love when that happens.

The original recipe called for chopped apples. My boys don’t like to find chunks of fruit in anything, so I decided to use a box grater and grate the apples. They had no idea that the muffins were loaded with fruit! The original recipe suggests that regular-sized muffin cups be used. I thought mini-muffins would be a much better size for the little hands at the soccer game.  I ended up with 36 mini-muffins and needed a little extra brown sugar for the tops.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 cup (4 ounces) white whole wheat flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (5 5/8 ounces) dark brown sugar, divided
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and grated

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease and flour a mini muffin tin, or line with papers and grease the insides of the papers.

Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix in the buttermilk gently. (If you over-mix, the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle.) Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared mini-muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven, cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

Yield: 24 mini-muffins (the recipe actually made 36 mini-muffins for me)

One year ago: Lemon Risotto
Two years ago: Scalloped Potato Gratin