Happy Tuesday all! Ever wake up to hunt or fish at, say, 4 am, and think “How can one function, much less think about eating this early in the morning?!” So then you throw on your camouflage or bathing suit, pour a quick cup of coffee, and walk out the door. And what do you know? Thirty minutes later, you are starving, but you’re already waist-deep in the pond or have just pulled away from the dock. Talk about s-o-l, right? Wrong!

I made these apple muffins in anticipation of a few days of combo turkey/hog hunting a few weeks ago, knowing that hunger would strike the moment we got set up. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, the lodge where my dad and I were headed ended up catching on fire via the hen house, so we had to cancel. Don’t worry, no one was hurt. I am telling you… Between sinus surgery and that incident, this is just not my year for turkey hunting! But I digress. These muffins still ended up being a big hit with the roommates, and are perfect to grab when you are walking out the door heading to hunt work. Okay… hunt. Fish? I like those better than work. Clearly.

There are a great many ways to adapt these muffins with different flavors if apple really isn’t your style, but definitely give them a try!

INGREDIENTS:

1 apple, peeled and cored – I used a tart green apple
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3  cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup mlk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (You can also substitute 1/4 cup apple sauce here)

STEPS:

1. Preheat your oven to 350*. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Use a whisk to make sure they are evenly incorporated.

2. Peel and core your apple. The corer I have also cuts the apple into wedges, which made grating it a little easier. If you don’t have one, just cut it into chunks and grate from there. Also, I chopped a few of the apple wedges, rather than grating them. They made the muffins a little chunkier than I like, but feel free to do the same! Then add the apple to the dry ingredients.

3. Stir together all of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then add them to the rest of the mixture. Whisk everything together until the batter is just combined.

4. Once you have lined your muffin tin, spray the inside of the liners with some non-stick cooking spray. Trust me. Then fill each cup almost to the top, a little more than 3/4 of the way.

5. Pop them in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean and the tops are golden brown. I sprinkled a little extra cinnamon-sugar on mine while they were still hot. You can never have too much cinnamon-sugar. Anyhoo… See what I mean about chopping vs grating the apple? Totally person preference, but delish nonetheless.

Grab one (or two!) on your way out the door, and you have a delicious little something to keep you satisfied while on your adventures. Enjoy!