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Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Maple Glazed Apple Cider Muffins (Vegan)



Sometimes the best recipes come from random things sitting in the fridge or pantry. Day after day I was opening my fridge and staring straight at an opened bottle of apple cider. The unfiltered kind from the bottled juice section at Trader Joe's, not the the sparkling variety. I don't like to give my family too much juice and had only bought this for a recent brunch. Finally I pulled it out determined to make something delicious out of it, and these muffins are the result. Just the right sweetness, so much warmth from the cinnamon, and a happy burst of maple glaze right on top!


These muffins are ridiculously easy and just SO. MOIST. They literally melt on your tongue. I credit that to the amount of juice used in the recipe. When you pour your batter into the cupcake cups you'll feel like its almost soup-y. Have no fear, that translates into softness! The brown sugar gives a lovely hint of molasses and of course contributes to the perfect texture in these gems. You'll notice there are no eggs..you don't need them! This recipe is developed for maximum fluffy texture, and eggs are more useful when you're aiming for a dense treat. We make up for the loss of moisture with more liquid :) The vinegar helps the muffins rise but I promise you can't taste it, don't leave it out!


Yields 15 muffins

Ingredients
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-2 1/4 cups flour
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
-1/4 teaspoon cloves
-1 1/2 cups apple cider at room temperature (can also use apple juice) *If not room temperature, microwave for 30 seconds or so. Do not let the liquid get hot*
-1/2 cup vegetable oil
-1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

*Optional: 1/2 cup dried raisins or chopped walnuts/pecans

Glaze
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-1 tablespoon maple syrup (sub apple cider/juice if you do not have maple syrup)
-1/4 cup powdered sugar (you may need an extra tablespoon)

Instructions
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-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Line a cupcake pan with liners or spray cavities with a non-stick cooking spray. 
-In a large bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Mix together and set aside.
-In a medium bowl combine the apple cider juice , vegetable oil, vinegar and vanilla.
-Add the wet (apple juice mixture) ingredients to the dry (flour mixture) ingredients and stir until well blended. Add optional raisins or chopped nuts.
-Fill the lined cupcake cavities 3/4 full and bake on a lower middle rack in oven for 18-22 minutes (mine were perfect at 20) or until a few moist crumbs stick to a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin.
-Remove the muffins from oven and allow to cool.
-While the muffins are baking, in a small bowl blend together the apple cider and powdered sugar mixture. I use a mini whisk to get a smooth texture. If the glaze is too runny, add a little bit more powdered sugar.
-When the muffins have cooled, dip the top of each muffin into the glaze and hold upside down while the extra glaze drips off back into the bowl. After I dip all the muffins, I like to re-dip each muffin again after the glaze has set a bit for a nice thick coating.  Allow glaze to harden and serve. Store extra muffins tightly covered at room temperature for 3-5 days.
-Enjoy!


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3 comments:

  1. There isn't enough praise to express how much we enjoyed these muffins. This post came at a perfect time for me to use up leftover apple juice and even though we're not vegan, I liked the idea of no dairy or eggs. It was a breeze to mix up and baked beautifully in the oven. The smell in my kitchen was reward enough, but when they came out all fluffy and beautiful my mouth was watering beyond belief. At first my daughter was hesistant about the glaze when she tried it on its own, but on the muffin she agreed with the rest of the family that it was perfection. I added raisins to half the batch and next time I'm going to include them in all the muffins. Thanks a bunch!

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  2. I also wanted to add that now I'm going to to try your vegan orange muffins too...I'm sure they're as amazing as these apple ones!

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  3. I made these with my kids yesterday and they each ate 1 straight from the oven and 2 more after we glazed them. I sprinkled chopped walnuts on top for the adults. A hit all around, will definitely make again, thank you.

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