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.
What is the nutritional content for this recipe? I’m trying to track it in MyFitnessPal. Thanks!
These muffins are the perfect low sugar morning treat. They’re filling, moist, and just sweet enough to be delicious. I used vanilla yogurt instead of plain and I’m so happy with how they turned out. Thanks for this great recipe!
Just ran across this recipe and would like to try it tomorrow. Has anyone tried greek yogurt instead of regular? I was trying to use up other ingredients but buying regular yogurt might defeat the process, let me know! Thanks for sharing the recipe, looks great!
do you know the nutritional value of these muffins / calorie count ?
Thank you :)
Looking forward to making these with my son! However, I don’t have plain yogurt. Would Greek yogurt be ok? Or should I try something else?
Greek yogurt has less moisture than regular yogurt, so you may want to try increasing the apple sauce to 3/4 cup to compensate. :)
I made these today and LOVED them. I expected a “healthy” muffin to taste bland, but it didn’t at all. Even my husband liked them! I made some of the batter with bananas instead of apples and I liked the banana ones even better – a little more light and fluffy than the apple ones.
Just made these, and they are delicious! My 15 month old daughter already devoured a muffin, and is asking for more. These will be our go to muffin.
Like the look of these! Anyone tried these with an egg substitute? Egg allergy at our house, and I usually use ground flax/water or applesauce to make up for the egg. Not sure if that would work since these two ingredients are already included. If I try it I will repost =)
:) Well I’m glad we figured it out. And I think you’re right about the vodka!
Baking powder. Ugm. Vodka will fix this.
Hmm, did you double check the ingredients? Are you sure you used baking powder instead of baking soda?
Did not spring at all. :( Any ideas?
AshleeQueen – Yep, it should still work fine with AP flour :)
I know it wouldn’t be as healthy, but would it still work with regular all-purpose flour? I just have so much of it already…
Maple syrup would be great! Molasses is the byproduct of the white sugar making process and brown sugar is just regular sugar with some molasses in it, so molasses is not any more natural than white sugar or brown sugar.