Apple Spice Crumb Muffins

/
Apple Spice Crumb Muffins | Edible Perspective

This post is sponsored by Bob's Red Mill.

I'm craving fall like no other right now. The weather is slowly making a shift, but I'd like to speed things up a bit. Colorado weather can be so wacky this time of year. So while we're still having some pretty warm days here, I'm pretending it's fall with the foods I eat, including these Apple Spice Crumb Muffins that I've consumed approximately 9 of in 2 1/2 days (hmm, maybe more?).

Inside these muffins you'll find some of my very favorite ingredients and one ingredient that I've never really done much baking with before. I typically leave hulled hemp seed hearts for smoothies, oatmeal toppings, and the like, but I wanted to see how they would fair in a hearty breakfast muffin. Turns out, very well! They're so soft that you really don't even notice their presence in these muffins, except for a bit of added flavor. It's not like biting into a crunchy nut or sunflower seed. They pair tremendously well with the oat, buckwheat, and almond flour combination and earthy spices like cinnamon, clove, and molasses.

You all know I'm a huge fan of Bob's Red Mill products, whether they sponsor my work or not. I've been using their products for years + years and am always impressed by the quality and variety of what they offer (which seems to be expanding all of the time). I know most of you are on board with BRM as well, which is why I continue to work with them and feel it's such a good fit in this space.

Per the usual, I have a heavy list of notes at the end about substitutions and a couple tips, so be sure to check them out. While the ingredient list is somewhat long for these muffins, they're not tricky to make, and I promise you won't be disappointed once you get to the eating part. They're the perfect fall breakfast muffin, studded with little bites of apple and topped with one of my favorite crumb toppings ever. I included hemp seeds in the topping, as well as grated apple, oats, oat flour, coconut sugar, etc. It melts in your mouth.

Hopefully the photos sell you on these babies and hopefully you love them so much you eat 9 in 2 1/2 days just like me. Actually, I think I lost count. 

Apple Spice Crumb Muffins | Edible Perspective
Apple Spice Crumb Muffins | Edible Perspective
Apple Spice Crumb Muffins | Edible Perspective
Apple Spice Crumb Muffins | Edible Perspective
Apple Spice Crumb Muffins | Edible Perspective

Print Recipe!

Adapted from my: Vanilla Muffins + Blueberry Crumb Muffins

Apple Spice Crumb Muffins

gluten-free, dairy free // yields: 12 standard muffins

for the muffins:

  • 1 cup GF oat flour
  • 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/2 cup almond flour 
  • 1/2 cup hulled hemp seed hearts
  • 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons coconut sugar 
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons ground flax seed meal
  • 2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/3 cup applesauce
  • 3 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 medium-sized, crisp apples 
  • 1/3 cup melted coconut oil

for the topping:

  • 1/3 cup oat flour
  • 1/4 cup GF rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup softened coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 3 tablespoons hulled hemp seed hearts
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 medium-sized, crisp apple 

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line a 12-mold muffin pan with liners.

In a large bowl, stir all dry muffin ingredients together well. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Then whisk in the milk, applesauce, molasses, and vanilla extract. (Hold off on the oil + apple.)

In a medium bowl, place all topping ingredients except for the apple in a bowl. Mix together with your fingers or a fork until crumbly and thoroughly combined. 

Peel 2 apples. Dice 1 cup of the apple at 1/4-inch size. Set aside. Grate the remaining apple and drain lightly in the fine mesh strainer if extra juicy (give a light press until it's not drippy). Measure a lightly packed 1/2 cup. (If needed, peel and use the 3rd apple.) Mix the 1/2 cup grated apple with the topping mixture and set aside.

Whisk the coconut oil in with the wet muffin ingredients and immediately pour into the dry. Stir until just combined (when you no longer see dry flour). The mixture will be thick. Fold in the 1 cup of diced apple.

Scoop into the muffin liners almost to the top and gently spread. (I kind of tap the tops to spread the batter.) Crumble all of the topping mixture over each muffin. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a toothpick comes out nearly clean (should be slightly sticky/tacky but not wet/gooey). Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully place on a cooling rack until fully cooled (about 1 hour). Texture firms and becomes fluffier once fully cool.

Notes:

  • If you are sensitive to coconut flavor, use refined coconut oil or sub another baking oil in the muffins and use butter or vegan butter in the topping.
  • Almond meal can be subbed for almond flour.
  • Honey can be subbed for the molasses but the overall muffin flavor will change.
  • Sucanat, muscovado sugar, cane sugar, and brown sugar (lightly packed) can all be subbed for the coconut sugar.
  • Feel free to add other spices if you like. (ie: ginger, all spice, etc.)
  • If you leave the hemp seeds out of the muffins, you may want to decrease the liquids slightly. I haven't experimented with this.
  • Braeburn apples worked perfectly, whereas Honey Crisp were actually too juicy and needed to be drained of excess liquid.
Apple Spice Crumb Muffins | Edible Perspective

I'll be back again soon with a pregnancy update and then another recipe! It feels good to be back in this space a bit more lately. Stay tuned!

Happy Friday + happy weekend. 

Ashley

Today's post is sponsored by Bob's Red Mill, and I received compensation + product for writing this piece. Opinions are always my own. If I didn't love it, you wouldn't hear about it. Thanks for your continued support!