Apple Walnut Muffins with Honey

These moist apple walnut muffins are spiced with warming fall flavours such as cinnamon and nutmeg and are sweetened with honey.

Lately my social media feed has been flooded with apple recipes, anything from tarts to cakes and cupcakes. Apples are currently in season and it seems everybody is baking with them. Apple recipes are great, as they fall right into those few weeks were it just doesn’t seem appropriate to break out the pumpkin recipes yet but you’re already in the mood for some comforting soul food.

Speaking of soul food, what is your take on fall recipes? Do you like the decadence of a pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream topping or do you prefer something lighter like a fresh autumn salad? Or are you maybe something in-between?

My preference of fall food is somewhere in the center of pure decadence and something nourishing. I definitely notice my salad consumption declining as the days get colder. My cookie consumption on the other hand, steadily increases until winter time, where it sky rockets. Then comes spring and I crave fresh greens again. It sort of balances itself out you could say.

Honey

When Langnese Honig asked if I’d be interested in a collaboration, I was thrilled because I love using honey in my recipes as well as in my diy beauty products. However, I embarrassed myself a little when I was asked if I have ever heard of the brand and I flat out said no, I have never heard of you. It wasn’t until I received their products that I realized I very well knew the brand as I had bought their honey a couple of times before! Oh well, live and learn.

I love the addition of honey in this recipe as opposed to just regular sugar. It adds another layer of flavour that goes really well with the cinnamon spice. I worked with the Obstblütenhonig from Langnese Honig because it gives the muffins a nice honey flavour without making them overly sweet. I find that other honey brands are often just sweet and don’t carry a lot of flavour at all, which is a shame because honey can be so delicious!

Apple Garnishes

I don’t know about you, but I love it when a muffins reveals its flavours through its garnishes. To decorate the apple walnut muffins, I used a very small apple which had about the same diameter as my muffins. To make the apple slice topping, you need to cut the apples into very thin slices- the thinner the better. (Do not use a mandolin though, you still want the slices to hold their shape and not burn whilst baking.) Then gently place 3 apple slices into tops of the muffins in a feathered alignment. Due to the thick batter, the slices do not sink into the batter and can be arranged to your hearts desire.

Walnuts

The recipe calls for toasted walnuts. While you can use raw walnuts, toasted nuts add an additional flavour boost. If you cannot find pre-toasted walnuts, you can simply roast them yourself. I prefer to do this in a pan as opposed to the oven as they roast VERY quickly and I have burned my fair share of nuts in the oven. To toast the walnuts, simply add the chopped nuts to a non-stick pan and roast them until they are fragrant and slightly tanned. Stir constantly and keep your eyes on them. When they are ready, remove them from the heat immediately.

Fluffy Muffins

The trick to getting big and fluffy muffins is turning the temperature up in the first 5 minutes. This causes the muffins to rise quickly and creates a tall bakery-style muffin. I have done this with my zucchini muffins as well and I love the way the baking hack creates those big muffins without losing moisture. It only works with thick batters, so I do not do it with all my muffin recipes.

Most recipes will usually tell you to fill the muffin liners 3/4 full. This isn’t the case for these muffins right here. Due to the thick batter as well as the temperature burst in the beginning, they don’t overflow when you fill them to the top.

I wish you a beautiful fall season! Bon appétit!

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