In the rush between pumpkin-spiced October and cookie-studded December, November can be easy to miss. Before the month passes me the way that most have lately—in a total blur—I’d like a take a moment to celebrate November with Gingerbread Apple Muffins.
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These sky-high muffins are moist, healthy, and an ideal bridge between the fall that is still here and the holidays that are to come. Made with molasses, whole wheat flour, and a heap of holiday spices, their flavor is rich, warm, and even tempted me to turn on the Christmas music (too soon?).
At the same time that these muffins ring a holiday bell, however, they also honor fall. I squeezed every bit of sweet, crisp apple into the batter that it could possibly hold. The result is a fruit-studded, cinnamon-spiced muffin that’s part harvest, part holiday, and wholly November.
These Gingerbread Apple Muffins are freezer friendly, so if you are baking a batch (or a double batch), you can easily stow some away for quick, healthy breakfasts later on and for holiday guests too.
I have everything you need to know about storing and freezing muffins in my guide How to Store Muffins, so be sure to check it out as well.
More Delicious Muffin Recipes
- Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Apple Carrot Muffins
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins
- You can find even more ideas in this Healthy Muffin Recipes post!
Gingerbread Apple Muffins
Video
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¾ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt at room temperature
- ½ cup nonfat milk at room temperature
- ½ cup coconut sugar or substitute light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses not blackstrap
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 ½ cups finely diced sweet-crisp apples such as Pink Lady or Honeycrisp, peels on (about 1 medium)
- Optional: Sparkling or turbinado raw sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven, then preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a muffin tin with nonstick spray or line with paper liners. In a small bowl, melt the coconut oil in the microwave, then set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, coconut sugar, molasses, and egg. Let rest 5 minutes for the coconut sugar to dissolve slightly. If the mixture is not yet at room temperature, wait for a few additional minutes, then add the coconut oil. (If the wet ingredients are much colder than the coconut oil, the oil will resolidify and not incorporate properly. If this happens, gently warm the bowl in the microwave in 30-second bursts, just until it melts.)
- In a separate, large bowl, whisk together the white whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Fold in the diced apples, stirring gently to coat.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently by hand, just until the flour disappears. The mixture will be lumpy and thick, but do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups (I like to use a large scoop like this, as it helps the muffins rise the best), then sprinkle the tops with sparkling sugar, if desired. Bake the muffins for 16 to 18 minutes, until the tops are dry to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Store or freeze muffins according to this guide for How to Store Muffins and Other Quick Breads.
- I have not experimented with making the muffins gluten free, but I think you could replace both flours with a 1:1 GF all-purpose baking blend like this one.
Nutrition
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Definitely Mariean!