Cinnamon Apple Muffins

I'm not a big fan of cinnamon. Or apple. Or wasting food.
My attempt at eating at least an apple a day failed miserably last fortnight, and so did my supposed health kick. As a result, I had eight Granny Smith apples sitting in the fruit basket. I'm not even sure why I have a fruit basket, as I rarely eat fruit.

To avoid having to throw out these surprisingly sweet and juicy apples, I made Cinnamon Apple Muffins, purely for the purpose of giving to friends, taking into work for work colleagues, Friday staff morning tea, etc. However....once these came out of the oven and I had a taste, I wasn't too keen on sharing them. They were so yummy!!! Moist, soft and perfectly baked. I even enjoyed the cinnamon - it honestly brought the apple out. This was definitely an apple-packed muffin!! So much better tasting than a store-bought Apple Muffin.
Being a huge fan of the site, I actually found this recipe at Taste.com.au.

Due to certain elements (my own tastes, and having no baking soda), I modified the recipe slightly:

• Instead of 2 cups of plain flour, I used 1 cup plain flour and 1 cup self-raising flour to compensate for the 'AWOL' baking soda.
• I omitted the raisins, as I don't really like them, adding one more apple instead to make up the bulk.
• The original recipe required a cooking time of 20 minutes. In total, the muffins took approximately 30 minutes in my particular fan-forced oven. Possibly because I used more apple.

I decided to use my dormant MixMaster for the first time, which I inherited from my Mum. I honestly didn't see this method saving me anymore time than mixing the ingredients myself using a bowl and spoon. It also created slightly more washing up.

The MixMaster guide.

Apple, plus all dry, sifted ingredients combined.

After adding the wet mixture, this is the result. Not too thick, which is what the original recipe asked for.

Straight out of the oven.

SO moist!!!

Ingredients

• Oil spray, for greasing
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 4 medium (about 500g) Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, chopped
• 125g butter or margarine, melted, cooled
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 185mls (3/4 cup) milk

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare your ingredients. You will need 12 medium (125mls/ 1/2 cup) muffin pans. If you aren't using non-stick pans, brush the pans with the melted butter or margarine to lightly grease.
2. Sift the flour and cinnamon together into a large bowl. Stir in the brown sugar and apples until well combined.
3. Whisk together the butter or margarine, eggs and milk until well combined. Blending the wet ingredients before adding them to the apple/flour mixture makes it easier to evenly combine the two.
4. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a large metal spoon until just combined. It is important that the ingredients are only just combined. If the mixture is over-mixed, the cooked muffins will have a tough texture.
5. Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin pans.
6. Bake the muffins in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through. When cooked, remove from oven and stand for 5 minutes in the muffin tray before turning onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 day.

• Freezing: Individually wrap the cooled muffins in plastic wrap or foil and then place them in batches in sealed freezer bags. Freeze for up to I month.
• Defrosting: Thaw at room temperature still in their bags. To defrost in the microwave, remove the plastic wrap or foil and place the muffins directly onto the microwave turntable. Cook, uncovered, for 45 seconds for 2 muffins, 1 minute for 4, or 1 1/2 minutes for 6 on Defrost/350watts/30%. Then stand for 1 minute to allow muffins to finish defrosting.