Applesauce Muffins

Mmmmm.... snack time.  I had been planning on making these all week and finally got around to it this morning.  And then, one of the kids wanted one.  And he had to leave for camp soon.  He agreed to be a few minutes late in order to wait for these to come out of the oven and cool (slightly).  After scarfing it down with a mug of milk, he agreed that it was worth waiting for.  As the chef, I can say that it's always nice to be appreciated, and I'm glad he hung around.

This is an adaptation of a recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Book.  I like that it's simple and made with ingredients that are easy to have on hand. Makes 12-15, depending on how much batter goes into each muffin cup.

Applesauce Muffins
1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Line muffin tins with paper or foil cups and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix applesauce, egg, oil, vanilla and sugar.  Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix flours, baking powder and soda and spices.  Add applesauce mix and stir until almost combine.  Add in walnuts, and give it a few more stirs, until the ingredients are incorporated but not over-mixed.

4. Scoop muffin batter into prepared muffin pan (I use this to scoop), top each with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar, and bake 20 minutes.   The recipe is very moist, so the dry toothpick test can be tricky.  If needed, take the pan out of the oven and cut into a muffin to be sure that they are cooked.  As the chef, you are required to eat that 'damaged' muffin.  Oh darn.