Baking on Saturday afternoons has become a weekly ritual. After working on my computer from my couch all week, I like to be up on my feet on the days in between. Reaching high for bags of flour, plucking spices from the rack, grabbing my camera and hopping up onto the chair for an overhead shot, trying not to step on Cookie on the way down—it’s a dance of sorts.
Pssst… I’ve created a newer apple muffin recipe that is my new favorite, so you might want to check it out!
I’m getting steadier in my steps and also in my substitutions. Following recipes to a T is not my forté. I find a concept I like and a recipe that seems prime for adaptation, and switch things up as I go along. I’m learning what to swap for what, what can be added freely and what must be compensated by a reduction in another ingredient.
A few weekends ago, I got to thinking about those glorious gala apples in my fridge and how badly I wanted to bake with them. I decided to make apple muffins—I envisioned hearty, moist oatmeal muffins studded with red-skinned apple bits and flecked with cinnamon. I skipped a trip to the UPS store and stayed home to bake.
I searched through my notes and came across an oatmeal blueberry muffin recipe (since deleted) by Joy the Baker. Her recipe called for apple sauce, which seemed like a perfect match for apple muffins. Joy called them “surprisingly moist and delicious,” and from a girl with “the utmost respect and admiration for butter and fat,” I knew I’d found a winner. Joy never steers me wrong.
I dialed up Ella Fitzgerald on my old iPod and commenced my Saturday baking ritual. I was out of regular milk so I couldn’t make buttermilk, but I did have leftover coconut milk. I squeezed lemon juice into the coconut milk like I would for buttermilk and it seemed to have a similar reaction.
It was a game day; I looked out the window and watched traffic build on Boyd Street. I chopped apples while empathizing with Ella’s sad tomato, Hannah the busted Valentine.
I divvied up the batter into my muffin tin as I noticed a steady stream of crimson-clad OU fans walking toward Campus Corner and the stadium. Game time approaching, it was time to sell parking. I set the timer and Cookie and I skipped downstairs. Twenty minutes later, I went upstairs and brought warm muffins down to my friends. They got thumbs up and approvals all around.
I found that the muffins tasted even better the next day. They’re pretty big muffins—not jumbo-sized like the processed muffin monstrosities you find at coffee shops—but big enough to eat for breakfast with peanut butter, coconut butter or apple butter. Mmm, butter.
Apple Oatmeal Muffins
These apple muffins are wholesome and delicious. Recipe yields 1 dozen muffins. UPDATE: I’ve created a newer apple muffin recipe that is my new favorite, so you might want to check it out!
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin wrappers or spray with nonstick cooking spray. My non-stick muffin tin works so well I didn’t need either.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir until the mixture is well combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine the applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk until the mixture is well combined.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Stir just until moistened throughout (some streaks of flour are ok).
- Gently fold in the chopped apples. Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling them ⅔ to ¾ full. Sprinkle turbinado sugar (if using) on top of the muffins.
- Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until the muffins are lightly golden on top. Since these muffins contain fresh fruit, they will spoil more quickly than regular muffins. Store them in the refrigerator if you don’t intend to finish them within a day or two, or store them in the freezer for up to six months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker.
2025 edits: To simplify the recipe, I omitted ¼ teaspoon cardamom, ⅛ teaspoon ginger, and a sprinkle of nutmeg on top. I also suggest brown sugar instead of hard-to-find muscovado sugar. Lastly, I changed from coconut milk-and-lemon to buttermilk, which can be made with your milk of choice.
Make it dairy free: Make your buttermilk with dairy-free milk, like almond milk.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
