Saturday Morning @ 10 O'Clock ... Time for Muffins

So, here you go! A project for the morning ... roast a couple apples! Get them nice and sweet and lemony and cinnamon-y! Let them cool because in a little while you are going to make the nicest tea time snack! And there's a bonus! There will be plenty of leftovers for breakfast tomorrow morning! How sweet is that?

I'm using Empire apples, but you can use your favorite cooking apple. Whatever apple you choose, it should hold together in the roasting process. That's the one criteria for choosing. If in doubt, poke the apple pieces a bit during the roasting process and if the apple is soft on the outside and slightly firm on the inside before the end of the recipe's roasting time, get your little apples out of the oven so they don't turn to applesauce on the roasting pan.

Apple-Gruyère Muffins

Ingredients:

2 medium apples, roasted (recipe below)

2 c. flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

¼ c. soft butter

¼ c. maple syrup

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. plain yogurt ( I like Greek yogurt for the tang!)

½ c. grated Gruyère cheese ( I like smoked Gruyère !)

Roasted Apples

2 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped into ½ inch dice

1 large lemon wedge, squeezed over the apple pieces

3 tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F.

2. Toss the ingredients together in a bowl to coat the apple pieces.

3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

4. Plop the apples and all the juices onto the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

5. Flip the apples around after 15 minutes and test for consistency. Apples should be soft on the outside and slightly firm on the inside, slightly dry on the outside. If they need more time, turn the pan around and continue baking for another minute or two.

6. Cool the apples on the baking sheet before adding to the muffin batter.

Making the Muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F and butter or spritz (oven spray) the muffin cups – 16 regular sized or 6 over-sized and about 4 regular sized.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt  and set aside.
3. Whip the butter and maple syrup together until smooth and light.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each.
5. Add the yogurt and stir to combine.
6. Add the dry ingredients and mix by hand, just until the batter forms up.
7. Turn in the cooled apples (and all the juices) and the grated Gruyère cheese, mixing just until the apples and cheese are distributed.
8. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups filling them a bit over halfway.
9. Bake until a cake tester comes clean when poked in the center of the muffins – 15-20 minutes for regular sized muffins and 25 minutes for the oversized muffins. Cover with foil when they really start to brown up.
10. Cool in the pan for five minutes or so and then gently turn the muffins out onto racks to finish cooling.

A crunchy chewy crust with a shiny finish that tastes of a hint of maple when your tongue hits it. A moist crumble crumb that's not overly sweet, tangy with the flavour of the Greek yogurt and smoky with a hint of the Gruyère, and every so often, a soft citrus and cinnamon apple bit.  I really like these. Bet you will too!