Table for 6: Apple Maple Muffins

This past September, a few friends decided to get together to make brunch potluck.  Why?  Because it seemed like lately we were spending around $100 a couple for brunch.  Think about it, if you add it up, entree, drinks, coffee, tax+tip - it can all amount to around $100.  So potluck brunch it is.  It started off with some really outrageous requests from the guys in the group, until we said that a couple of them had to do the dishes, never have I seen minds change so quickly.  So after some thought, we came up with a fabulous menu, which included sangria, fritatta, scallion blue cheese biscuits, apple maple muffins, fruit, lemon poppy scones, vegan breakfast sausage and bacon (not bad!) and of course a huge pot of coffee.  I did the baking portion of the meal, which was great, I was able to make all the batters the day before and then just drop and bake in the morning.  Here's the recipe for the apple maple muffins - serve warm with some honey butter, it's finger licking good! 

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk 
5 1/3 tbsp unsalted butter 
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup peeled and chopped apples
1/8 tspn salt


Method:
Heat the oven to 400° F. Line 12 medium muffin cups with paper baking liners. Combine the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the milk, butter, maple syrup, and applesauce. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until just moistened.

Be careful not to mix too much! Gently stir in the chopped apples. Fill the muffin cups half full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Tip: To make this vegan, swap out the milk and butter for soy milk and vegan butter or shortening.