Vanilla Soaked Apple-Cinnamon-Oat Muffins

GREETINGS!

I hope that you're all having a FANTASTIC weekend with beautiful weather, light traffic, and rewarding naps. If you're in Baltimore this weekend, then you know that the annual anime convention, Otakon is in town wreaking havoc on cross-walks and sidewalks near Inner Harbor! I had the pleasure of witnessing some kind of battle between characters in a parking deck. Pretty sure that I heard someone scream "LET THIS BE OUR FINAL BATTLE!" - or maybe I made that part up.. who knows. 

Onward to the muffins! This recipe was inspired by apple picking season! I've never been apple picking before, but I'm sure that it's a cathartic experience that changes lives for the better. For popular orchards near Washington DC that have great quality apples ready for picking, follow this link. 

WHAT YOU NEED:

A. 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

B. 2 medium-sized apples

C. 1-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

D. 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

E. 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

F. 1 teaspoon baking powder

G. 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

H. 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

I. 1/2 teaspoon salt

J. 1 cup unsweetened applesauce

K. 1/2 cup Almond Milk (Original)

L. 3 tablespoons canola oil (or olive oil-canola blend)

M. 1 egg white

Topping:

1/4 cup quick-cooking oats

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

First things first...

Use a vegetable peeler to skin the apples. Cut as much of the apple off of the core as possible. Toss out the cores and dice the apple pieces evenly. However, if you don't dice them evenly, honestly, no one will notice- this ain't Top Chef. Put the diced apples into a small bowl and pour the vanilla over them. In order to make sure that the vanilla spreads to all of the apple pieces, use a spoon to stir the mixture. Let this mixture sit as you prepare the batter.

Tip: Use honey crisp or green apples if possible. They taste delicious in this mixture.

In a large bowl, mix ingredients C through I together.

In a separate bowl, take the vanilla soaked apples and mix them with ingredients J through M. Assuming that you're looking forward to some more mixing, stir the wet, apple mixture into the dry mixture. 

YOU'RE ALMOST DONE!

Fill the muffin cups coated with cooking spray (I use canola cooking spray) three-fourths full. Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle the mixture over the batter in each muffin cup. Bake at 400° for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Side note: Depending on the size of the muffin cups on your particular pan, your "muffin yield" (GREAT word) may be less than or greater than mine - 10 muffins. 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

DELICIOUS!! With the vanilla soaked apples, these muffins come out very moist. I've made these muffins before without the apples and I found them to be very thick - probably because of the oats. Also, the vanilla soaked baked apples inside add a welcomed, bright bite of fruit and a rich/warm vanilla flavor.

HOW TO PREVENT STALE MUFFINS

When I bake muffins, I like to make enough for the school week as a quick breakfast option. However, I've found that they become stale before Friday if I leave them on the counter in foil or plastic wrap. I suggest refrigerating them in a large plastic bag. If you make more than you can finish in a week, you may want to freeze the others in a freezer bag and warm them in the oven once you're ready to eat them. 

Thanks for reading, stay safe (anime characters walking around with cardboard swords near Otakon and whatnot), and enjoy the rest of your weekend!