Dishing Up the Dirt

Apple & Honey Oatmeal Muffins

As the weather cools down (we’ve even had snow!) I find myself craving hearty breakfasts and extra refills of coffee while chatting with Taylor about the day’s chores. We have a long list of “off-season” things that need to get done around the farm and we’re figuring out which ones are priority and then going from there. This season a major project that is upon us is building a proper deer fence (if you’d like to revisit the damage the deer caused us this year take a look here). We were originally going to work on the fence during the farm season but it just didn’t pan out with all the other work that needed to get done. As a result we ended up spending a lot of nights sleeping out in the fields instead of the comfort of our bedroom. We’re crossing our fingers that next season we’ll be able to sleep better (indoors!) knowing that the deer can’t jump the new fence. Fingers crossed!

Anyhow, with a long list of things that need to get done breakfast still continues to be the most important meal of the day. These muffins are a great treat to munch on first thing in the morning with a piping hot cup of coffee or even better as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea. We purchased a half gallon of local honey from the farmers market last week and 15 pounds of apples from our neighbor farmers up the road. Both the apples and the honey are the heart of these muffins so make sure to get good quality ingredients if you whip these up. Pour a cup of coffee and enjoy the flavors of the season!

Cheers from Tumbleweed.

Apple & Honey Oatmeal Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 18-20 minutes    Serves: 12 muffins

  • 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup good quality honey (make sure it's a runny honey and not a solid honey)
  • 2 Tablespoons walnut oil (can substitute with grapeseed or canola oil)
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 small honey crisp apples, chopped into small chunks
  • Turbinado sugar (or brown sugar) and a little cinnamon for topping

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices.
  3. In a medium-sized bowl combine the almond milk with the apple cider vinegar and let rest for 3-5 minutes (this creates a dairy free buttermilk). Stir in the applesauce, honey, oil, egg and vanilla extract.
  4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and mix in the wet ingredients. Stir until everything is well combined. Fold in the chopped apples and then pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups filling them about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with a pinch of turbinado sugar and cinnamon.
  5. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
  6. Cool the muffins for 15 minutes before enjoying.

Notes

*you can substitute real buttermilk for the dairy free version * I love walnut oil in baked goods for its nutty flavor. However you can substitute with any neutral oil you have on hand. *Store these muffins in an airtight container for 2 days at room temperature or freeze them for a couple of months


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3 thoughts on “Apple & Honey Oatmeal Muffins

  1. Anon says:

    Made these today and they were fantastic! I was expecting them to be too sweet but they were perfect. And the smell – just divine. So wholesome and made my house smell like honey-vanilla. I was so happy to see the ingredients calling for flour instead of ground almonds as it keeps the cost down. Will definitely make these weekly!,

  2. These are quite nice. I had to sub a bit, as I made them with what was on-hand. Pears instead of apples. Whole spelt instead of regular flour. And kefir instead of almond milk/vinegar. The pears and cardamom are lovely together. Congrats on your cook book! My partner and I have just bought a 5-acre property near Seattle, so we’re getting a lot of inspiration from you guys.

  3. Anna W. says:

    We loved these muffins! I used a “flax egg” instead of an egg and I didn’t sprinkle the tops with sugar (although I am sure that would have made them all the more tasty!). Besides that, I didn’t change anything and they came out SO good! They are perfectly sweet and made our house smell delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

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