**This post has been linked to Pennywise Platters Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet!**
Last weekend I needed a snack and I wanted to make some muffins. I saw the apple pie filling I’d canned last year sitting in my pantry, and I thought, “Hmm…” So I mixed up these muffins and they were delicious! They’re also GAPS-friendly, and a wonderful treat for those who thought they left baking and sweets behind by going grain- and sugar-free!
This recipe is also very versatile, because depending on the “toppings” you add, these could be plain cinnamon muffins, cinnamon crunch muffins (skip the apples, use the cinnamon topping), or apple upside down muffins!
Small note: When I tested these muffins I had a little trouble with them sinking in the middle. I’ve adjusted the recipe a bit so that it *shouldn’t* do that. I’ve gone ahead and posted because my family said “We LOVE these!!” and quickly ate them all, so I figured a tiny bit of sinking wasn’t a terrible thing. 
If you try it with the small modifications (and yes I tried it more than once), let me know! Oh, and there’s no picture of this because they were just eaten too fast!
Ingredients:
Cinnamon topping:
½ c. Apple pie filling (home-canned, preferably)
- 3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 2 tbsp. raw honey
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 c. water
- 1 tbsp. arrowroot powder
Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients for the muffins together. Add the wet ingredients and stir together until smooth. Fill muffin cups ½ full. Don’t overfill, or they will spread and make a big mess! Top with apple pie filling, then cinnamon topping. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes (you may need to turn the oven down to 325 and watch carefully if you’re using coconut oil, as it burns more easily than butter).
Apple pie filling:
In a small saucepan, stir together honey, water, and arrowroot. Bring to a boil and stir until slightly thickened. Add apples and cinnamon and cook over medium heat until apples are softened slightly. Remove from heat. Use as a topping for the muffins! (Canning directions are different.)
Cinnamon topping:
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until well-combined and crumbly. Sprinkle on top of muffins.
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TESTING!
These sound easy! And much fancier than the stuff I usually make, so it will *seem* like I have more kitchen skillz than I really do. My kinda recipe.
The apples–any old apples? I have regular red ones now (red delicious?). Also, arrowroot powder…can I replace it with anything? I have all the other ingredients and would love to avoid a grocery trip.
If I really need it, can I find it at Kroger or Giant Eagle?
Lindsey — The "best" apples are probably Jonathon, or golden delicious (pie apples), but hey, try what you've got! If you have cornstarch or another thickener you can use that in place of arrowroot. I know they have arrowroot at Raisin Rack and probably Whole Foods but not sure about other grocery stores. (The topping is YUMMY btw!! Even if you skipped the apples they would think you are amazing lol.)
What type of muffin tins do you use? These look delicious!
I made these today using flax eggs instead of real eggs (I’m sensitive to egg whites). They taste good but even though I followed the filling directions they spread out over the top of the pan and were super sticky. We had to eat them with forks instead of like muffins. Do you have any recommendations for adjusting this to be egg free?
I am not sure…but they do tend to spread even with the eggs, so it probably was fine.
The filling tends to make them a little runnier.