I’m really not one to use all sorts of fancy “health food” ingredients but strangely enough, I enjoy the flavor and texture of things like bran and flax meal. So, when I spotted a box of flax meal at the store for less than $3, I grabbed it. I love to sprinkle the stuff on my oatmeal or in my yogurt.
On the back of the box I found this recipe for apple flax muffins. I thought it looked interesting and it kind of reminded me of the morning glory muffins that I made and loved so much… except even healthier.
Well, I switched around some ingredients, made a couple of substitutions and came up with a version all my own. Flax seed contains a bunch of good fat so it wasn’t necessary for any extra oil to be added to the batter. The texture of the batter is definitely different (a little stiff/gooey) and I almost thought the recipe was going to be a flop, but while they were in the oven magic happened. They puffed up and turned into delicious, light, yet hearty muffins!
After they cooled, I zipped them up tight in a freezer bag and popped them into the freezer. Now I can pull out one muffin at a time, thaw it in the microwave for 30 seconds and enjoy the yummy muffin goodness whenever I want!
Apple Flax Muffins
Apple Flax Muffins
Servings 12Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour ($0.28)
- 3/4 cup ground flaxseed ($0.27)
- 2 tsp baking soda ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar ($0.16)
- 1 large egg ($0.18)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce ($0.25)
- 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt ($0.25)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract ($0.14)
- 2 medium apples ($1.81)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients (flour, ground flax seed, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (egg, brown sugar, yogurt, apple sauce, and vanilla). Core and chop the apples into small pieces.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Fold in the chopped apples just until they are evenly distributed. Try not to over stir the mixture or else the muffins may become tough or rubbery.
- Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray or line with paper cups. Evenly distribute the muffin batter between 12 muffin cups. Bake in the preheated 400 degree oven until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 20-25 minutes). Remove the muffins from the tin and let cool on a wire rack.
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
This is the ground flax seed that I bought. I put it on just about everything. Flax seed meal, ground flax seed and milled flax seed are all the same thing. Because of the delicate omega-3 fatty acids, it needs to be kept in the refrigerator once opened.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, ground flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Because of the way it dissolves, we’re counting brown sugar as a wet ingredient. Oh, go ahead and start preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: brown sugar, egg, apple sauce, yogurt, and vanilla.
It will look a little something like this.
Before you combine the wet and dry, make sure you have your apples ready. You can use any type of apple depending on how sweet you like things. I used gala apples which are a little on the sweet side, but there isn’t much sugar in the batter so they worked well.
Core and chop the apples. I left the skin on but that’s up to you. Next time I think I’ll cut the apples a bit smaller. The long rectangles weren’t that visually appealing.
Now it’s time to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry and stir just until everything is moist and then fold in the apples. Try not to over stir.
This is what my batter looked like. It was a little thick and I had to scoop it into the muffin tin rather than pouring like a regular muffin batter. I was worried, but once it was in the oven everything turned out okay.
Fill the muffin cups all the way up to the top (or just divide the batter evenly among the 12 cups). Place them in the preheated oven and bake until they’re nice and brown on top (about 20-25 minutes).
I was really pleased with how well they rose once in the oven. I thought for sure the batter was too thick to yield a nice fluffy muffin but I was wrong. I guess the flax meal just creates a different texture in the batter.
Take the muffins out of the tin and allow them to cool. If left in the muffin tin to cool, steam will cause the bottoms to get soggy. Soggy muffins = sad muffins.
I really like the healthiness of this recipe! But I want to use a natural sweetener instead of brown sugar..do you think i should replace w mashed banana, molasses, date or maple syrup??
Wow, so I finally got around to making these again — this time I made two batches! One had apples, and the other had bananas. Both were wonderful, but the banana ones are my hands down favorite of the three fruits I’ve tried so far (pears, apples, and bananas). I kept everything exactly the same, but used about two and a half diced ripe bananas instead of the apples. The nuttiness of the ground flax works wonderfully with the sweet bananas — it’s kind of like banana nut bread.
Next up, I plan on trying a pumpkin version, and maybe something tropically, like pineapple.
These look great! Any idea how I would incorporate pumpkin into these?
Finally going to make a recipe from your lovely blog. I was wondering if this might work in a smallish loaf pan instead of a muffin tin. I’m planning on making a double batch this evening for a party. I think I might try a loaf pan & I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.
Thanks for all of the hard work that goes into your blog!
Yum! I made a batch of these on Sunday morning using pears instead of apples (pears were on sale), and they are delicious! I threw them in the freezer and my boyfriend and I have been using them for breakfast and snacking throughout the week – I think these will definitely be a new staple item in our house. Cheap, easy, tasty and healthy – what’s not to like? I look forward to trying them in the future with apples, as well as with other fruits, for variety.
I suppose it might work but I’ll have to admit, it’s totally uncharted territory for me :) Even baking with the ground flaxseed was new to me. But, it never hurts to experiment!!
Do you think ground walnuts will provide the fat content needed for the muffins?
There really isn’t a similar substitute to flax seed that I can think of. Using what bran or germ will add texture but they don’t have nearly the fat content that flax seeds do. That would change the texture/moisture content of the muffin significantly. That being said, I know that apple bran muffins are really popular so I’m sure there are a plethora of recipes out there for those… I just don’t have one to offer :( Wish I could be more help!
If I don’t have flaxseeds, is there anything else I can use as a substitute?
Made them today and mmmm! The kids like them too (added bonus:-)
Yum. I love ground flaxseeds, they’re easy to work into things and the taste isn’t as difficult to deal with as flaxseed oil.
They sell ground flax seed in the bulk bins at a local grocer we have here in AZ (Sprout’s…I’m not sure if any other states have it?). In bulk it’s very reasonably priced by the pound, considering it’s extremely light! I’ve always only gotten a small amount at a time, like 1/4 of a cup. I usually sprinkle it on top of my oatmeal for extra fiber and omega-3’s, but I would love to try these muffins. They look healthy and delicious for a quick snack or breakfast on the go!
i’ve never tried cooking with flax…but i have some in my pantry so i better get on that (it’s not milled so i have to do that myself).
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I’m in such a baking mood right now…(which is extremely rare!) Probably because it’s 70 degrees in my town. Ha! I’m such a cold weather wimp. These look great!
I am so excited to try these but I can’t have yogurt, can you recommend some substitutions? Thanks!
Yep, you can just increase the apple sauce to one cup, but you’ll need to add about 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to make up for the acid in the yogurt. The acid is needed for the baking soda leavening.