Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

Are you hosting anyone for Thanksgiving weekend?  Or, traveling to stay at the home of a friend or with family?  These muffins make the perfect breakfast or afternoon snack, and taste even better when they are shared.  

They would be a welcome addition to your holiday, making breakfast on the day of the big feast a cinch preventing you from getting too busy and skipping it altogether.  They pair very nicely with yogurt- choose one higher in protein (at least 7 grams) and lower in sugar (the lower, the better- less than 15 grams is a good goal) so you will feel full until the turkey is ready.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

Yield: 18

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed, divided
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease 18 muffin wells and set aside.

Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix in the yogurt.  Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin wells, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.