I was going to blog about the dinner I made last night, but after reading Ally's latest post about the Babycakes cookbook, I thought that I should first write about the first recipe that I along with my lil' helper Noah made from the Babycakes cookbook today: we made the most delicious Apple-Cinnamon Muffins! Ally had told me how much she loved Babycakes, and I also received it for Christmas. So alas, I cracked it open, flipped through the pages and decided that I just HAD to try baking these apple-cinnamon muffins! I feel personally like Babycakes gave me a similar feel as Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet. I love how random pages have celebrity fans who may or may not be vegan and have wrote in about how much they love the NYC bakery! YAY! This always excites me and makes me more interested in trying recipes. I also love how even though this book consists of bakery-inspired recipes, they also do make most of these recipes more healthy than your average crap-cake! I love the pictures too!
So this morning, Noah and I woke up and started our day by peeling Pink Lady and Granny Smith Apples (organic and B.C. apples - yay), and then we roasted them! The house was filled with the most AMAZING smell ever and it made my entire morning! In the late-afternoon we used 1 cup of the cooked apples to make the Apple-Cinnamon muffins that are from Babycakes. I hope you enjoy them as much as we are! These muffins have a lovely and not over-the-top sweet but rather subtle-sweet flavor, are not only vegan but also gluten-free, and have a great cinnamon taste for those cinnamon-lovers out there (Noah and I are definitely cinnamon lovers)! I really like how the author Erin McKenna doesn't use a lot of refined sugar. I used raw agave to bake these and they turned out great :) ENJOY!
Apple-Cinnamon Muffins
First make Roasted Apples:
Ingredients:
1) 1 pound of granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced into 1-inch cubes
2) 1 pound of pink lady apples, peeled, cored and diced into 1-inch cubes
3) 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
4) 1/2 cup of agave nectar
5) 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
Apples about to go into the oven :) MMM!Steps:
1) Preheat the oven to 325'F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2) Peel, core and dice into 1-inch cubes 1 pound of Granny Smith Apples AND 1 pound of Pink Lady Apples. *I didn't know how much 1 pound was and so I googled it and learned that apparently 3 medium apples = 1 pound of apples (2 large apples = 1 pound of apples and 4 small apples = 1 pound of apples)...I couldn't tell if my apples classified as medium or large so I used 4 pink lady and 2 granny smith (yes I have a personal preference)!
3)In a medium bowl, toss together the apples, cinnamon, agave nectar and lemon juice until the apples are completely coated. Spread the mixture over the prepared baking sheet.
4) Bake the apples on the center rack for 35 minutes, rotating the sheet 180 degrees after 20 minutes. The apples will be soft. Let the apples stand for 30 minutes, or until completely cool. (The roasted apples can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week).
*If you are baking the muffins right away, then keep the oven temperature at 325'F. If not, then turn the oven off and then when you are ready to bake the muffins, preheat the oven to 325'F.
My little helper!Apple-Cinnamon Muffin Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free All-purpose baking flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of xanthan gum
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 cup of coconut oil
2/3 cup of agave nectar
2/3 cup of rice milk
2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract
Method:
1) Make sure the oven is set at 325' F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the oil, agave nectar, rice milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth. Add 1 cup of the roasted apples and stir to distribute.
3) Pour 1/3 cup batter into each prepared cup. Bake the muffins on the center rack for 22 minutes, rotating the tin 180 degrees after 15 minutes. The finished muffins will be golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.
4) Let the muffins stand in the tin for 15 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely. Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Let me tell you, these muffins are so lovely! The roasted apples in them tastes so delicious!!! But not at all overly sweet! Just perfect to me :) I love apples right now especially so I am a huge fan!
*Just a lil' side-note. The roasted apple recipe makes approximately 3 cups or so...I am planning on making applesauce tomorrow with the remaining roasted apples. Babycakes has a recipe for applesauce that's really simple. They say to spoon the roasted apples (from the above recipe), into a food processor or blender and add 1/4 cup Agave Nectar with 1 cup of hot water. Blend the apples until they are smooth, about 1 minute! They also recommend that if you are not using the applesauce right away, to store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Hope you enjoy these :)
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