Cremona's Kitchen

Being it’s officially fall and all, this weekend we went to the Minnetonka Apple Orchard.  We hadn’t been apple picking since we lived in La Crosse, and while JR is probably too young to truly enjoy it, it was a great excuse to spend some time outdoors that didn’t completely revolve around lumber (yes, apples grow on trees. baby steps).

JR danced around the pumpkins and experienced his first hayride.  Pancake could hardly handle herself-stopping to smell most everything and pulling her leash at every chance she got…so a pretty typical afternoon for her.

The only apples in season for you-pick were harlsons–a decent baking apple.  After some prodding, JR got the hang of plucking the apple off the tree and tossing it into our bag.

Of course, now that we have all these apples, its baking time. When I found this apple muffin recipe, it was simple enough that I could easily get them into the oven while JR napped so it immediately went to the top of the “must-make” list.  The biggest time suck is prepping the apples-peeling and dicing takes time.  But these muffins are unbelievably moist (sorry if that word grosses you out but they are!) and completely delicious.  And as a huge confidence boost, JR dances every time he takes a bite 🙂 So with that dancing endorsement, these muffins are worth making.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 cups peeled, cored, diced apples –about three to four apples
• Brown sugar for topping

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla.  In separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine until well-mixed.  Fold in apples.
3. Place liners in muffin tins. Fill each tin 3/4 full and then top with brown sugar.
4. Bake for 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
5. Once cooled, enjoy 🙂

Source: The Girl Who Eat Everything