Apple Cinnamon Mini Muffins (Vegan & Gluten-Free!)

Growing up, my Mum and I used to make muffins together. As the stories go, when I was really little (around 2 years old), she didn’t know what to do with me to keep me occupied all day. So we made muffins.

I was small enough to sit under the counter without my head touching the bottom of the kitchen cabinets. So my Mum would stick me there, out of the way, and we’d make muffins.

My favourites were always her Apple Pie Muffins — they had a butter/brown sugar/cinnamon topping that was just perfection.

I’ve channeled those flavours into these healthier muffins, that still provide a good hit of nostalgia — whether you made muffins with your Mum or not, apple and cinnamon seems to bring back earlier memories for just about everyone.

Ashley was hosting a potluck vegan picnic (and yoga class) in the park, so I thought I’d take along something sweet and portable. Mini muffins hit the spot!

And what a spread it was:

We had all sorts of beautiful salads (gluten-free pasta, quinoa, cauliflower, just veggies):

And it was so nice to sit and giggle and eat and share after a good yoga session together. With muffins.

Apple Cinnamon Mini Muffins (Vegan & Gluten-Free!)

Adapted from Meghan Telpner’s Veggie Transition eBook, Makes 24 mini muffins or 12 regular muffins

Dry Ingredients

• 3/4 c. buckwheat flour
• 3/4 c. brown rice flour or quinoa flour
• 1/4 c. tapioca starch
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Wet Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. ground flax mixed with 1/4 c. water
• 1 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 c. coconut oil
• 1/2 c. maple syrup
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix-Ins

• 2 apples (granny smith, fuji, ambrosia, or pink lady are great here)
• 1/2 c. walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare your muffin tin by greasing with coconut oil or using a vacuum spray bottle to mist with olive oil.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the Dry Ingredients and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the Wet Ingredients until smooth.

Add the Wet Ingredients to the Dry Ingredients and stir with a spatula to incorporate completely. Gently fold in the Mix-Ins.

Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Let cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin, then remove them from the tin and let cool on a wire rack.

Store any extras in the fridge or freezer.