Weekend before last, ahead of a routine test on Monday, my husband was instructed to start on a soft food diet. We headed to our big hypermarket for a shopping trip, picking up clear soups and other tasty morsels he could eat. “How about applesauce?” he said. “Sure,’ I replied. I turned back towards the fresh produce, as he turned toward the cans and jars. We both stopped.
“We are not going to buy applesauce!” I exclaimed. “You know how easy it is to make applesauce!” Plus, I pointed out, we were having pork chops for dinner – his last solid meal for a couple of days - so we’d need applesauce for those as well.
Sure, it takes a while to peel and core the apples (and toss them in a little fresh lemon juice), but you know exactly what you get when you are done. Pure applesauce, with a hint of lemon. If you choose your apples wisely, you don’t need to add sugar.
How to make applesauce:
Put the juice of one small lemon in a large mixing bowl. Peel, core and chop 3 Granny Smith apples and four Red Delicious, tossing the chunks in the lemon juice to stop them turning brown.
Place the lot in a heavy saucepan with 1/4 cup or 60ml water. Keep the fire on medium low and cover the pot with a tightfitting lid. Check it often, stirring the apples when you do. Cook until the apples are very soft and can be mashed easily with the back of a spoon. Taste the applesauce and add a little sugar, if necessary. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Country Applesauce Pecan Muffins
Ingredients2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup or 125g pecans
2/3 cup or 132g brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup or 80ml canola oil, plus a little extra for greasing muffin pan
1 large egg
1 rounded cup or 250g applesauce (see instructions above or use store-bought sauce)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180C°. Toast the pecans on a dry baking pan as the oven preheats. Watch them closely and shake the pan occasionally so the pecans don’t scorch. This won’t take long. Remove from the oven and chop coarsely.
Grease 12 standard muffin cups with a little canola or line the pan with paper liners.
Divide the chopped pecans, setting aside a generous handful to sprinkle on the muffins before baking.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, the larger pile of chopped pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another smaller mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk the oil, egg, applesauce and vanilla extract together.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just mixed.
Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Top with the reserved chopped pecans.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy!
Many thanks to Karen from Karen’s Kitchen Stories for hosting this edition of Muffin Monday while I am on the road from the east coast to the west with my daughter. We are in New York state right now and are headed to Cleveland, Ohio this morning. As I mentioned in my last post, my Instagram feed is always kind of a weird mix of images, but for the next eight days, it's going to be filled with sights from our cross country trip. Do follow along!
Meanwhile, make sure to check out all the other goodies my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today!
- Banana Cookie Butter Oatmeal Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
- Blueberry-Peach Muffins from Palatable Pastime
- Cherry Surprise Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Corned Beef Stuffed Muffins from Passion Kneaded
- Country Applesauce Pecan Muffins from Food Lust People Love
- Sour Cream Muffins with Mixed Berries from Karen's Kitchen Stories
#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.
Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.
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