Active time: 20 minutes Total time: 45 minutes

All the great autumn flavor of cider donuts with less sugar and no deep frying? Sign us up! These mini muffins are sweetened in part with cooked apple cider and fresh apple and use whole-wheat pastry flour to include a little whole-grain fiber. We dip them in cinnamon sugar to finish, but that’s optional. Nutrition bonus: This recipe sneaks in roughly 20% of your daily calcium.

Apple Cider Mini Muffins

Ingredients 

For the muffins

  • 1/2 cup (118ml) unsweetened apple cider
  • 1/2 cup (70g) apple, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 cup (140g) whole-wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup (110g) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup (118ml) 2% milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil

For the topping (optional)

  • Coconut or olive oil cooking spray
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Coat 20 wells of a 24-well mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Combine the apple cider and apples in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until cider is absorbed by the apples, about 10 minutes. Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate until cool, 10 minutes.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, pie spice, cardamom and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, milk and vanilla. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry, then add the reduced apple cider mixture and butter or coconut oil, and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.

Spoon the batter into prepared muffin tin, filling the wells 3/4 full, about 2 tablespoons per well. (The batter is quite thin; a small ice cream scoop is ideal for portioning the batter.) Bake until the tops of the muffins are dry and golden brown, 15–18 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

If you’d like to top the muffins, mist with cooking spray. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and dip tops in the sugar. Serve warm or keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Makes 20 mini muffins

Serves: 10 | Serving size: 2 mini muffins

Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 98; Total Fat: 3g; Saturated Fat: 1.5g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 24mg; Sodium: 74mg; Carbohydrate: 18g; Dietary Fiber: 1g; Sugar: 15g; Protein: 2g