Apple Cinnamon Muffins

APPLE CINNAMON MUFFINS

I had such big plans to present a lavish looking dessert for you this week. Was all ready and pumped to present to you an apple tarte tatin. I bought a new small frypan and got loads of apples and then made it. While it turned out and tasted quite nice, it was ugly. I was playing with the type of sugar to use and when caster sugar crystalised I thought I'd try brown. Sure it worked, it just made it dark and ugly. So I'll attempt it again soon.

So then I had to think of what else I could make. I had a whole heap of peeled apples left, and then I remembered a friend had recently posted she'd made apple cinnamon muffins. Then I knew I had to make them. Love apples, and cinnamon has become a favourite flavour of mine. These were simple to make and tasted so very moist. The raisins helped and certainly didn't dominate the muffin, just adding to the moistness.

Parents, these are a good lunch box stuffer, there's nothing too bad in them and they are super tasty. If you're not a massive cinnamon fan you can take a teaspoon out, but I say keep it bold. Some recipes call for red apples, but quite frankly I find them bland. The tartness of the green apple is divine and mixes perfectly with the sweet. Enjoy these, I have a very sinful recipe for later in the week.

Recipe originally from: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/10436/basic+cinnamon+apple+muffins

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Plain Flour

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

3 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

3/4 cup Brown Sugar (firmly packed)

2 medium Green Apples (peeled, corred and diced)

125g Seedless Raisins

125g Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled

2 Eggs

3/4 cup, Milk

Toasted Muesli, for top of the muffins

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 180°c and grease a 12 muffin pan with canola spray.

2 - Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, apples and raisins until well combined.

3 - Whisk together the butter, eggs and milks until well combined.

4 - Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir with a large metal spoon. Mix just until all ingredients are combined. Be careful not to overmix.

5 - Spoon mixture into muffin pan and top with toasted muesli, adds some nice crunch to the muffin.

6 - Bake the muffins for around 20 minutes or until muffins are fully cooked and spring back up when touched.

7 - Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

8 - Enjoy.

Catch you during the week.

Wayne
xx

Sultana & Oat Cookies

SULTANA & OAT COOKIES

Now these very tasty and very easy to make biscuits were the ones which got me started in my little baking heaven. Back in 2011, in my first year in Melbourne when I wanted to start baking but wasn't so sure if I could do it, this was the first recipe I tried. And it has become a favourite of mine I make quite often, even teaching it to my Mum (Apparently my nephew loves them too). I like to pretend that it's actually a little healthy. Sure, it may not be, but it's not as bad as many of the other biscuits out there. It uses brown sugar and honey to give it taste. Plus there's also great muesli and oats in it. Now I always like to get a good brand muesli to put in it (I use Carmen's). Tried it once with cheap muesli and it wasn't anywhere near as good.

I'd also like to thank you all for reading my blog, I have gotten some great feedback - so thanks. And if you haven't joined yet, please join the "Baked By Wayne" Facebook group at:

https://www.facebook.com/BakedByWayne

I also included these biscuits in a massive collection of baking I did today for my friend Corey's short film shoot. "Dante's Folly" is being shot this weekend in Shepparton and I'm travelling up there for a small role - exciting. Anyway, more recipes next week, this weekend is a massive one for me.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of Self Raising Flour, sifted

1 cup of Toasted Muesli

1 cup of Sultanas

3/4 cup of Rolled Oats

1/2 cup of Brown Sugar

125g of Unsalted Butter, melted

1 Egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon of Honey

Sprinkle of Cinnamon Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 190°c and line 2 biscuits trays with liners or baking paper.

2 - Toss dry ingredients in a large bowl with a wooden spoon.

3 - Add melted butter, egg and honey and stir with spoon until combined.

4 - Use your hands to make balls, about the size of a dessert spoon.

5 - Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, until golden.

6 - Enjoy and pretend they're healthy.

Have a great weekend and do some baking if you have time!

Wayne

xx