Mini Applesauce Muffins

My baby is in Kindergarten and I spend mornings helping out in the classroom (I don’t have attachment issues or anything (kidding!  The right job came around at the right time!)), then I get my afternoon off to go to the gym, or run errands, or do housework, or ignore all that and make muffins.

In the first few weeks of Kindergarten the kids learn about a new letter of the alphabet each day and the children bring an item to share that starts with that letter.  Spud had “C” day first (and brought cookies, I mean, everyone knows that C is for Cookie).  And his second share day was on “m” day!

Spud is so sweet, that he asked me to come back to school for share time, so he could share Mom on “M” day!  Instead of doing any of the aforementioned adulty things, I went home and made mini muffins to share with the class.

You guys, the children were so excited!  It was totally worth it!

Added to that, Dude’s classmates saw me walking into the building with a Tupperware and immediately descended on me, and the batch made enough to share with both classes of kids (and Dude’s classmates were thrilled too!)

Added to that, the muffins were healthy and delicious AND they’re another great recipe for my Taste of Home Tuesdays!

Pizza Quesadillas from Jolene's Recipe Journal

Potato Bacon Corn Chowder from Red Cottage Chronicles

Side note: feel free to make normal sized muffins (you’ll get about a dozen), just adjust the baking time as needed!

Applesauce Muffins

Adapted from Taste of Home

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

½ cup sugar

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla

1 cup + 2 tbsp applesauce

2 cups whole wheat flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

2-3 tsp cinnamon-sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line (or grease) a mini muffin tin with paper liners.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl to a stand mixer and cream together.  Add the egg and vanilla and stir until mixed.  Mix in the applesauce.

Add in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Stir until mixed.

Add heaping tablespoons of batter into each well of the mini muffin tin.  Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 13-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from the tin.  Cool slightly before eating and completely before storing.

Makes about 44 mini muffins