Spiced Apple Muffins (with hidden source of protein)

Happy October!  Fall is one of my favorite times of the year for so many reasons.  When I lived in the Midwest I loved the smell of fall, the air always seemed to be clean and crisp.  I don’t get to experience that anymore here in the west but it’s a smell that one never forgets.

I may be experiencing fall in the desert and the weather is very different but one thing that will never change about fall for me is the food.  Fall means apple picking and pumpkin patches.  Would you believe that we can even go to an apple orchard to pick apples here?  Apples grow in Arizona…who knew?

Pumpkin seems to get so much love around this time so I wanted to give apples a time to shine.  Fun fact: there are more than 7500 varieties of apples grown worldwide.  The most famous apple is the red delicious, which surprised me because most people probably wouldn’t say those are their favorite.  Most apples actually have similar nutrient contents no matter their color.  Interesting huh!

I brought samples of these muffins to work for some opinions ,other than my own, and they were a hit!  Nobody believed that they were made from oats and lentils instead of traditional flour.  Yes you heard that right.  Adding lentils to these adds 18 grams of protein to the batch.

These muffins are still…moist, fluffy, and flavorful.  I know you will enjoy them as much as everyone else did.  Make a double batch and freeze them for convenient meals or snacks.  A great recipe to use up those crisp fall apples.  Use any kind of apple you like.  What’s your favorite?

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Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 12

Author Sara

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked lentils
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup apple butter applesauce or pear butter would work too
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 3 Tbsp molasses
• 1 cup shredded apple about 2 small apples
• 1/4 cup raisins or currants
• 1 chia egg or regular egg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a food processor or blender grind the rolled oats into a flour.
3. In a large bowl add the lentils, apple butter, oil, and egg.
4. Mix until combined.
5. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients, oat flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.
6. Add the dry to the wet until just combined.
7. Fold in the raisins and shredded apple.
8. In 12 lined muffin cups add 1/2 cup mixture to evenly distribute the batter.
9. Bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes until set.
10. Cool completely.
11. Store in an airtight container. Keep on the counter for 3 days, in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for 1 month.

Recipe Notes

*choose organic ingredients when possible.