It’s September!

‘Tis the season to no longer be ashamed of my basic love for all things PUMPKIN. And carbs. And SWEATERS. Apples! Crunchy leaves to step on when walking my dog! I have to stop here, I’m getting too overwhelmed.

This weekend is the annual Mushroom Festival here in little ol’ Kennett Square. Here, you can find all things mushroom-related: décor, food, games, everything. I’ve been a lifelong spectator of the festival, but I’m extra excited for this year! I didn’t go into too much detail the last time I mentioned it, but I will be competing in the annual Amateur Mushroom Cook-off. This year’s special ingredient is Scaramuzza’s pasta – I will be making sage, pancetta and mushroom gnocchi in a garlic cream sauce. Definitely not paleo, gluten free, dairy free, or anything remotely *healthy*,  but it’s really tasty and I’m excited to make it! My first step to being on the Food Network…. hahaha. But no, really. Someone reading this, help me make that happen.

After taking a long weekend and having a lot more time to make some recipe ideas for you all, I’ve turned out a LOT of fall stuff. I’m going to make this quick so we can cut to the chase and get on to talking about food. This is a nice variation of something similar I’ve made before, but it’s SUPER easy to make and freeze to save for later. I wrap them individually in foil or wax paper, defrost it overnight and take one on my way to work. These are nice because they stay nice and moist – they pretty much never go stale… they are what my neighbor’s kids refer to as “wet muffins”. It’s innocent because a four-year-old says it, so I’ll stick with it.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins (Paleo!)

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 25 min

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 fuji or gala apple, core removed – peeled and diced
• 2 large eggs
• 1/8 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (unflavored is also fine)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp ground sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your muffin tin lightly with your preferred cooking fat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash your bananas with a fork. Whisk in your apple, egg, vanilla extract, maple syrup and almond milk until smooth.
3. Next, mix in your cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, sea salt and almond flour.
4. Since almond flour doesn’t immediately absorb the liquids, I like to allow my batter to rest for about 5 minutes before moving it into my muffin tin.
5. Once the mixture has absorbed a little, divide batter evenly among cups – the muffin cups should be about ¾ full so they don’t overflow and bake over the sides.
6. Bake for 18-25 minutes until starting to turn golden on top. Check if they are done by sticking a knife or toothpick into a middle muffin – if it’s clean, they’re finished. Let cool, and serve!

Optional: if you’re feeling extra indulgent, spread a little ghee over them.

Enjoy!

-S