Apple Spice Crumb Muffins

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. 

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.

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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.

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!

Cinnamon Apple Buckwheat Waffles + $200 Rejuvenation Giveaway

It's waffle time. You ready?

Silly question. You're obviously ready.

Today we're talking about the cinnamon apple buckwheat waffles you see below and one of my new favorite stores, Rejuvenation. (Read to the end for giveaway details!)

This post + giveaway are sponsored by Rejuvenation. All opinions are always my own. I only partner with brands I love and think are a fabulous fit for this blog. Thanks for your continued support!!

It's been awhile since I've made a recipe featuring one of my all-time favorite ingredients, buckwheat flour. Despite "wheat" being in the name, this is actually a gluten-free grain. Way back in the day I was slightly obsessed with making buckwheat bakes for breakfast. If you're a long time EP reader, I'm sure you remember.

I love buckwheat flour for its hearty texture and slight earthy flavor. When using raw buckwheat groats (photographed above) the earthiness is subtle and it pairs tremendously well with the cinnamon in these waffles. I find buckwheat flour to really help with the texture of gluten-free baked goods in things like muffins, waffles, quick breads, etc. 

A few months ago I connected with Rejuvenation through my good friend Melissa. She raved about working with them and also about the quality of products they sell. So when I had the opportunity to work with them myself, I jumped at it. 

Rejuvenation's focus is in home lighting. And they have what seems like an endless amount of options. For instance, you can pick a light you like and then sort through 80 different shade options for that light and pick different finishes, and so on. It's pretty amazing. 

But beyond their lighting, they also have a fun assortment of kitchen items, interior furniture, outdoor furniture, cabinet hardware, and so much more. I definitely got stuck searching their site for hours. When I got to looking at their kitchen items I found so many things I had been on the search for for quite some time. You can see all of those items in this post!

So what did I think of my Rejuvenation home + kitchen goods? Honestly, I have been loving them all. They've been in my kitchen for a few months now, so I was really able to test everything out. And you know, if I didn't love it, I wouldn't be reviewing it.

Both glass cake plates make such a statement. They're super sturdy with a lovely vintage flair and will make any stack of waffles look fancy, and I love the vintage flair.  I've been looking for a set of quality white nesting bowls for awhile now and am so happy with this trio from Rejuvenation. They're a creamy white milk glass and are the perfect size for all of my baking needs. I'm also loving the casual look of these enamelware, black-rimmed plates. The bright white color really makes food POP! And the adorable serving trays? They're perfect for catching waffle crumbs and maple syrup spills when serving up breakfast to a crowd. And finally, a spoon rest that's sleek + white and easy to clean!

Okay, one more thing. Did you notice the adorable wooden box accent light? I'm sure you did. I am in love. Each light is hand crafted in Portland, OR by A-Lamp Design. You can pick from a few different colors and it comes with a sweet, LED Edison-style bulb you can see in the photo above. The wood box is super sturdy and I love the heavyweight cord that's attached. The craftsmanship and style are top notch. 

I had more fun than you want to know playing with my new props and creating this recipe to help show them off.

Now let's do that waffle thang.

Print Recipe!

Cinnamon Apple Buckwheat Waffles

gluten-free, dairy free // yields 2, 6" Belgian-style waffles

• 3/4 cup raw buckwheat flour (ground from raw buckwheat groats)
• 1/2 cup almond flour 
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk 
• 2 tablespoons applesauce
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, melted
• scant 3/4 cup peeled and grated crisp apple (use the large side of your grater)

Preheat your waffle iron and grease according to manufacturer's instructions. (I like to set mine a slightly over medium heat.)

In a large bowl combine the flours, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Stir well.

In a medium bowl whisk the egg. Then whisk in the milk, applesauce, and syrup. Whisk in the melted oil then pour immediately into the dry bowl. Whisk until just combined (when you no longer see dry flour). Fold in the grated apple and let the mixture sit for 2-4 minutes. (It will thicken a bit as it sits.)

Pour half of the mixture (or more/less depending on your waffle iron) into your waffle iron and cook until deep golden brown in color. 

Serve immediately for the best crispy texture and cook the remaining waffle. Top as desired.

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Notes:

You can sub in 2%, whole milk, or soy milk instead of almond milk if desired.

Buckwheat flour can be easily ground in a blender right at home. Look for raw buckwheat groats (pale green/yellow in color) in the bulk aisle at your store or packaged by Bob's Red Mill. Grind about 1 cup of groats at a time until flour-like in texture. Sift if needed to remove any un-ground pieces. Store excess in a sealed container in the fridge to preserve freshness. Most packaged buckwheat flour has a much earthier flavor, due to the husk being ground into the flour along with the groats. However, store-bought buckwheat flour will work! Avoid using "kasha" buckwheat groats (red/brown in color) as these are toasted buckwheat groats and they have a much stronger, overpowering flavor. 

And now for the best part!! Rejuvenation is giving one lucky reader the chance to win $200 to their store to buy anything you want! And be sure to read the entry options carefully, as the email list signup will get you FIVE entries and a 10% discount code to their store that will be emailed once the giveaway ends.

Enter below to win!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ashley

This post + giveaway are sponsored by Rejuvenation. Thanks for your support!