Healthy Apple Muffins

Ingredients

• cup s(260 g) whole wheat flour(spooned & leveled)
• teaspoon baking powder
• teaspoon baking soda
• teaspoon sground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon groundallspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup(180 g) smoothunsweetened applesauce, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup(160ml) pure maple syrup, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup(70 g) coconut oil, melted (or vegetable oil or melted butter)
• and 1/2 teaspoon spure vanilla extra ct
• cup s(210 g) shredded/grated apple(about 2 peeled apples)*
• optional:3/4 cup (about 90 g) chopped pecans or walnuts
• optional:1 Tablespoon coarse sugar for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1. Whole Wheat Flour : I love using whole wheat flour in baking when I can. Whole wheat flour can quickly dry out your baked goods, so it’s important to pay close attention to the wet ingredients. For example, there’s extra butter and milk in these whole wheat dinner rolls to make up for the hearty flour. Today’s muffins are super moist and we have the following listed ingredients to thank!
2. Eggs : This recipe used to call for 3 eggs, which weighed the muffins down and provided too much eggy structure. I updated the recipe so you use 2 eggs and more applesauce.
3. Unsweetened Applesauce : Just as if you were making applesauce muffins , make sure you use unsweetened applesauce here. If all you have is sweetened, slightly reduce the maple syrup as noted in the recipe Note below.
4. Pure Maple Syrup : Pure maple syrup sweetens the muffins and adds some moisture. The darker the pure maple syrup, the stronger the flavor. So if your maple syrup is extra dark with robust flavor, slightly reduce to 1/2 cup (120ml). If your maple syrup is golden or light amber colored (not very dark), use 2/3 cup as instructed below.
5. Coconut Oil : Instead of butter or vegetable oil, use melted coconut oil. This is one of my very favorite ingredients in the kitchen and you can use it again for these chocolate banana muffins .
6. Shredded Apples : Use shredded apples instead of chunks. Why? Shredded apples act as a wet ingredient while chunks act as an add in. You want MOISTURE, so grab a grater just as if you were going to shred carrots for carrot cake or zucchini for zucchini bread .