Vegan Apple Muffins

Happy New Year, friends!

Did you all over-indulge over the holiday season? I know I did! So, after spending the whole of December posting Christmas recipes, I thought it would be a good idea to have January be detox month. So, this month I'll be posting as many healthy(ish) recipes I can muster, starting with these Vegan apple muffins.

These muffins are tasty, moist and have a lovely subtle apple and almond flavour, and they are dairy free (if you want them to be!) I used sunflower spread and almond milk, so all in all these muffins are fairly healthy, but if you're not on a dairy-restricted diet, cows milk and standard margarine will work just fine. This is a recipe that Alex and I love, as once the muffins have cooled, you can wrap them tightly in cling film and then put in the freezer. If you take the muffin out of the freezer in the morning and allow it to defrost still wrapped, it will be fully thawed and ready to eat by lunch time!

Ingredients:

60g sunflower spread (or margarine, if making the non-Vegan variety)

2 eating apples

100g soft brown sugar (plus extra for topping)

200ml almond milk (or standard milk, if non-Vegan)

2tsp baking powder

1tsp mixed spice

150g plain flour

100g wholemeal flour

Prep time: 10 – 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 – 20 minutes

Makes 9 muffins

1. Melt the sunflower spread in the microwave for 15 seconds, then place to one side to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 and line a muffin tray with cases.
3. Peel the apples and then grate them into a medium sized mixing bowl, (watch for those pips!)
4. Add the sugar, milk and cooled sunflower spread to the apple and beat with a fork until the sugar has dissolved.
5. Add the baking powder, mixed spice and both flours to the bowl. Stir into the mixture with the fork until the ingredients come together to form a thick batter.
6. Spoon the batter into the muffin cases, filling each around ¾ full. Sprinkle a little extra brown sugar over the top of each muffin, then place on the middle shelf of the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown all over.
7. Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the muffins have cooled, you can wrap them tightly in cling film and then put in the freezer. If you take the muffin out of the freezer in the morning and allow it to defrost still wrapped, it will be fully thawed and ready to eat by lunch time!

Happy Thoughts
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