Apple, Almond & Buckwheat Muffins

If the warm apple and cinnamon fragrance from our kitchen found a way to fly into my laptop, on to the internet and out through whatever device you are reading this on, then I could stop writing this text right here. You would already be deep into your pantry drawers looking for the ingredients to start baking these muffins.

Instead, I guess I have to convince you the old-fashioned way, with words and images. And since we truly want you to understand how thrilled we are about this recipe, we also filmed a video for our youtube channel. Let’s start with that!

Apple trees heavy with fruit, small rubber boots tumbling around in the leaves, warm porridge in the morning, furry sweaters, cinnamon sticks, pitch dark nights and rainy afternoons. Autumn is already over us and it always seems to come with a profound desire for baking. In our apartment, switching on the oven is also a necessary trick to keep warm, since our radiators have a mind of their own.

If anyone remember my previous aversion to warm apples, this recipe must be the ultimate proof that I’m passed it. Not only does our muffins have shredded apples in the batter and sliced apples on top of them, but they also hold small golden pockets of apple sauce in the middle. It’s a serenade of apple flavours and textures paired with warm spices and they sing happy songs together.

I guess this is an Autumnal edition of our Blueberry & Turmeric Breakfast Muffins. These are only sweetened with apples and dates, they are gluten-free and we have included a well-tested vegan option. The vegan version come out just slightly denser, but they taste almost identical. The combination of apple, oats, almond and buckwheat is perfect in an earthy, wholesome but still light kind of way.

So if you are also feeling the autumn mood or are just freezing and need another excuse to switch on the oven, we have got just the right recipe for you.

Apple, Almond & Buckwheat Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

These muffins are only sweetened with apples and dates. We make our own apple sauce and even though it is unsweetened, it has a naturally sweet flavour that works perfect in this recipe. Since the muffins are not overly decadent, we enjoy them both as weekend breakfast and weekday dessert. However, if you know that you like your muffins more on the sweeter side, you can replace have of the apple sauce with maple syrup.

Dry ingredients
1 cup / 100 g almond flour
1 cup / 100 g rolled oats (use cert. gluten free if intolerant)
2/3 cup / 75 g buckwheat flour
2 tbsp arrowroot (or potato starch)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp sea salt

Wet ingredients
160 ml / 2/3 cup plain unsweetened yogurt or plant yogurt
80 ml / 1/3 cup coconut oil, butter or olive oil
10 fresh soft dates, pitted and mashed
3 large eggs (or 3 tbsp chia seeds mixed with 9 tbsp water)
1/2 cup / 120 ml apple sauce, unsweetened (see below for instructions hot to make your own)
3 organic apples

Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C. Grease a muffin pan with oil or butter or line it with muffin tins. Add all the dry ingredients to a food processor or blender and process on high speed so the oats turn into coarse flour and all ingredients are mixed. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, yogurt, coconut oil, dates and 1/3 cup / 80 ml of the apple sauce (save the rest for later) to the food processor or blender and mix until smooth, and then transfer to the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Grate two of the apples and add them to the batter. Divide the batter into the muffin tins, filling them only half way up. Drop a heaping teaspoon of apple sauce in the middle of each muffin and then cover with the remaining batter. Slice the last apple thinly, brush the slices with oil and place one or a few slices on top of each muffin, pressing them down slightly. Dust with cinnamon. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. Let cool for a bit before taking them out of their tins and they will release easier. Enjoy!

Apple Sauce
Apple sauce is one of the simplest things to make and if you choose a sweet variety of apples, no other sweetener is needed. This makes more than you need for the Apple Muffin recipe, which is good as you can add large spoonfuls of the leftovers on top of yogurt or cultured buttermilk in the morning.

1 lb / ½ kg organic apples
¼ cup / 60 ml water
1 tsp lemon juice

Core the apples, cut them in ½ inch / 1 cm dices and add to a large sauce pan on medium heat together with the water. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat slightly. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Use a hand blender to mix it smoothly. Add lemon juice and stir around to prevent the color from going brown. Store in air-tight glass jars the fridge for up to about a week or in plastic containers in the freezer for-like-ever.