Apple-Oat Muffins

At the risk of making everyone think that all I eat is soup and muffins, here's another muffin recipe.  Let's face it.  You can never have too many muffins.  Especially ones like these, bursting with little apple nuggets and chewy oatmeal, golden brown and crusty on top, cakey and dense inside.  Add a hint of cinnamon and you can almost imagine it's still autumn, even though snow is falling and all the trees are looking for their leaves.  (Don't get me wrong; I like snow and winter.  I just like fall more.)

If you still have a few wrinkly apples left from your visit to the orchard a couple of months ago, they will be great for this recipe.  I actually used up some windfalls I still had from the co-op.  If not, any kind of cooking apple will do.  The original recipe calls for plain yogurt, which I happened to have on hand, but sour cream or applesauce can be substituted as well.  (If you have homemade applesauce, all the better.)

Apple-Oat Muffins (from this recipe)
Yield:  1 dozen
Total time:  35-40 minutes

2 cups peeled shredded apple (about 3/4 pound)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup milk
2 T. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup (8 oz.) plain low-fat yogurt (OR applesauce OR sour cream)
1 egg

Place apple on paper towels; squeeze over sink until barely moist; set aside.  Combine flour and next six ingredients (through cinnamon) in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk.  Make a well in center of mixture.  In a separate bowl, combine milk, oil, vanilla, yogurt, and egg; stir well with a whisk.  Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.  Stir in apple.

Spoon batter into 12 well-greased muffin cups (they should be filled almost to the top).  Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center.