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Applesauce & Currant Muffins

by | Jan 29, 2016 | Breads, Muffins and Scones, Recipe Posts

I was lucky enough to have a grandmother who baked constantly, and being a somewhat overweight (OK….huge) child, I always enjoyed trips to her house to see what was coming out of the oven.  homemade bread and rolls, shortcakes with garden berries, rhubarb cake, cornstarch pudding (sounds gross-tasted great, but like I said I was twice the size of a normal child my age so ate just about everything not tied down in those days) and the smell of cinnamon when she would bake an old fashioned applesauce spice cake.  I don’t know where her recipes went, or if she even used them, but here is my attempt to replicate that old spice cake into muffins.

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I have been using this recipe for nearly 30 years as witnessed by my old baking notebook below.  We’ve also got some applesauce from the freezer and a cup of dried currants.  These two ingredients separate the men from the boys in this recipe.

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The usual muffin routine applies.  First all of your dry ingredients to into a bowl and get tossed tougher with the currants.

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Then all of the liquid ingredients get mixed together with the applesauce.  Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ones – just until blended together.  Remember: stirring = gluten.  Gluten = structure and can make these guys tough.  We do not want that.

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Into muffin tins, then sprinkled with some brown sugar.  Here I thew some cinnamon sugar on just for the fun of it.

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Bake for about 20 minutes or until just set on top.  Try not to burn yourself while you are tearing one open and slathering it with butter five seconds after it comes out of the oven.

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Hope you like these!!  xoxox

APPLESAUCE-CURRANT MUFFINS

Roberta Reynolds
It does not seem possible, but I have been making these muffins for nearly 30 years. Yikes. You can see that half the flour is whole wheat – you’ll never even notice it. The applesauce lightens the texture and gives it a ‘just out of grandma’s oven’ old fashioned tasted. Eat them as they are, or warm with a nice big pat of butter on top…just an idea you understand.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 14 large muffins

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups unbleached flour
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar plus extra for sprinkling
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 cup dried currants
  • ½ cup canola or other neutral oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 cups applesauce

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two muffin pans with baking spray.
  • In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  • Stir in currants.
  • In a separate bowl, combine eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and applesauce.
  • Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring only until mixed.
  • Pour into greased baking pans if making bread. If making muffins, scoop into muffin tins, and fill to about ½ inch from the top of the pan.
  • Sprinkle some brown sugar on top of each muffin. (If you have some cinnamon sugar laying around, feel free to give the top of each a good shake of that also).
  • Bake until baked through in the center, about 20 minutes.
  • Allow muffins to cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes. Remove and place on a cooling rack until cool. At that point you can wrap and freeze or dig in!