Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I'm always hunting for ways to make sure I eat breakfast. A simple apple muffin recipe caught my eye, and oh, do they make the kitchen smell heavenly! I modified the original recipe to eliminate the oil, add a kick of candied ginger, and add some crunch with slivered almonds.

If you don't want to add oil to a recipe, you can replace the oil with applesauce or pureed pumpkin in a 1:1 ratio. I didn't want to use oil or open a jar of applesauce just for one batch of muffins. So I made my own applesauce in the microwave. I put about 1/2 a cup of diced apple in a mug, covered it,  microwaved it for a minute and a half, and mashed it with a fork. To remove excess water, I microwaved it for another minute to get the right consistency for applesauce. I did not add extra sugar or cinnamon for the applesauce, just used it straight out of the microwave. The muffins came out great without the oil or processed applesauce!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Makes 1 dozen muffins

1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup applesauce or canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup finely diced apples
1/4 cup slivered almonds or walnuts
2 tablespoons diced candied ginger
brown sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl. (Flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt).
3. Add all wet ingredients, apple, nuts, and ginger. Mix by hand to incorporate, but don't go crazy, since over mixing yields denser baked goods. Mix only as much as necessary.
4. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Spoon about a 1.5 tablespoons into a each liner, then top with about a teaspoon of brown sugar (optional).
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool before eating.