These Apple Cinnamon Muffin Tops taste like fall. We all know the muffin top is the best part, right? This grain-free, nut-free version eliminates the bottom – and lots of the sugar – from a traditional muffin to give you a healthier cozy baked good to enjoy anytime!
Funny story: my mind went in thirty-two different directions when I sat down to write this.
I mean, I could talk about how we all know that the top is the best part of the muffin. I used to order giant chocolate chip muffins from Tim Horton’s and always favored the crunchy, chocolate-dotted top over the muffin bottom. I probably still ate the muffin bottom (because carbs), but the top is so much more interesting.
I could also talk about how Lorelai in Gilmore Girls agreed with this statement, so Sookie made her a bunch of muffins, cut off the tops, and used the bottoms to make muffin-bottom pie. And about how this way is so much more efficient because you get straight to the tops.
Because muffin tops are the best part: Apple Cinnamon Muffin Tops. #paleo #fitfluential Share on XThere’s also the fact that I eat an apple pretty much every day, but don’t get creative with them enough. I slather them in nut butter or wrap them in deli meat and call it a day.
And then there’s this mysterious concept my grandma introduced me to as a kid. Yeah, that’s what I’m going to stick with.
Have you ever heard of the fruit roll? It sounds like dessert, right? Well, it’s not. When my grandma’s classmates really wanted to show appreciation for a teacher, they would agree upon a time and day, and each student would bring to roll fruit to the front of the room as a gift. If it was fruit that didn’t roll well, then students would walk it up to the teacher’s desk.
Can we talk about this? Can you imagine high school students getting together today and saying that they just think this really great teacher deserves 25-plus pieces of assorted fruit? I can’t. Do I think it’s a nice idea? Of course. Personally, I’d be delighted to receive that much fruit. But I’m trying to imagine my peers collecting and organizing this and coming up blank.
Anyway, I think of this phenomenon about 85% of the time I eat an apple. Given that I eat apples a lot, that’s a little ridiculous. Still, this story has stuck with me, and I think apples would be the perfect rolling fruit. An orange would probably also work, but I feel like the skin would have too much traction on the floor. And any stone fruit would just bruise.
So… I’m not rolling you apples, but I did use apples to make you muffin tops. I used the best fruit roll fruit to make you the best part of a muffin. You’ll accept that, right? These muffin tops are rich with protein and healthy fats, since sunflower seed butter is the base, and are fluffy, sweet, cinnamon-y, and full of tender apples. They taste like fall, and make the perfect cozy baked good to have with breakfast or enjoy as a seasonal anytime snack.
- 1/2 c. sunflower seed butter
- 1/4 c. tahini
- 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
- 3 T. maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 2 T. coconut flour
- 2 T. tapioca flour
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1/4 t. baking soda
- 1/8 t. salt
- 1 small apple, chopped (about 3/4 c.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine sunflower seed butter, tahini, applesauce, and maple syrup. If your sunflower seed butter or tahini are refrigerated, you might need to microwave to soften a little, but make sure it's back to room temperature before you add your egg!
- Add the egg and vanilla to the sunflower seed butter mixture and mix until combined.
- To the wet ingredients, add the coconut flour, tapioca flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and chopped apple. Mix well.
- Scoop muffin tops onto lined baking sheet. The batter will be thick enough that it shouldn't spread much. I've used both 1/4 c. and 1/3 c. measuring cups to scoop mine. Just watch the baking time if you make them smaller!
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until set on top. Enjoy! These last at room temperature for about a week, or in the fridge for two week. I like them at all temperatures.
- Any nut/seed butter will work in place of the sunflower seed butter and tahini. Obviously, it will change the flavor, but it'll still be delicious.
- Baking with sunflower seed butter can cause green spots to appear in your baked goods. It's due to a reaction with baking soda and not a problem at all. I promise.
Click here to view nutrition facts for Apple Cinnamon Muffin Tops
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It’s also the first day of the Autumn Produce Challenge with Kayla and Priya! Share your favorite apple recipes with us!
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Your turn:
What’s your favorite kind of muffin?
What fruit would you want rolled at you?
Of course I’ll accept that; cause I absolutely love the muffin tops too! I love how you incorporated this into talking about school and such. 🙂 And I would always ‘peel off the muffin top’ and eat that first before the rest of the muffin.
Thanks, Emily!
Bahahaha I wonder if anyone ever brought a true rolling fruit, like a cantaloupe. And do you have to roll grapes one by one? That would take a while #thoughtsinmyhead
How did I totally not think of melons?! Those would be perfect.
I love it! Of course muffin tops are the best part lol thanks for the link up and feel free to come over to our meatless Monday link up today too
Thanks so much, Deborah!
Love! Muffin tops are definitely the best part of the muffin. 😛 Honestly I’m just pretty boring and I’d want a bunch of apples rolled at me… I am loving all of the different MN-grown varieties they have at the local co-op right now and I want to try them all!
I think I’d choose apples, too. I eat hem all the time! And I’m excited that we’re going apple picking this weekend so I’ll have tons of local-ish apples!???
So cute 😛 I eat an apple everyday too! One of my favorite foods always and forever!
Same here, my friend!
These look delicious Ellen! And your photographs are beautiful! My mouth is watering! 🙂
Thanks so much, Kayla! We were both thinking muffins today ?
What an awesome link up! And I LOVE this. Muffin tops are definitely the best part 🙂
Thanks so much, Ellie!
Ellen, I love it that you recall some of the things I have told you over the years. But then it kinda scares me to think what all you remember. Yes, they were mostly apples, oranges, and grapefruit. Bananas do not roll very well. Back in the day (the 50’s) our grocery store was not filled with stacks and stacks of every fruit imaginable. Had not thought of cantaloupe –or watermelon. Someone actually brought a box to help the teacher tote her fruit home.
I hadn’t thought of melons either! And it was nice that the teacher had help transporting all that fruit.
omg this is genius! I literally pull the top off of muffins or cupcakes and eat that part first, sometimes not even eating the bottom. I can’t wait to try these! My favorite muffin is probably anything with cinnamon. I love a cinnamon sweet with coffee in the morning.
All things cinnamon make me happy!
sooo, i’m out of sun butter *sob face* i love baking with it though! and these look like the perrrrfect size to take with me for a snack 🙂
It has such great flavor! And yes, they’re substantial but not too big ?
I was wondering how you made these muffin tops! Really cool idea!
Thank you!
Such a great idea! muffins tops are better than whole muffins anyway 🙂 I actually forgot that I have 2 recipes for muffins tops in my draft folder ready that need to be posted soon because….. MUFFIN TOPS!
Ooh I can’t wait to see yours!
A fruit roll is such a great idea. I love it. A coconut would probably be the best rolling fruit, since they are pretty much bowling balls.
I didn’t think of coconuts! That’s a nice idea ?
Would you mind rolling over a few of these? They look delicious and the ingredients are such a unique combination, too. I’m trying to imagine what tahini and sunflower seed butter mixed with apples and cinnamon taste like. Awesome, I guess :).
The fruit roll story is really funny and if I was a teacher that’d make me way happier than receiving candy.
Aw thank you! I like that the tahini balances out the sweetness a little. They’re still sweet, but not overwhelmingly so!
Why hello there, fall in a cookie! 😉 These look SO SO GOOD!
And that fruit roll story is hilarious – but isn’t that fruit abuse? All I can see in my head is bruised apples! 😛
Thanks, Kristy!
Hahaha well if you roll them really gently and wash them afterward…but psh you’re gonna eat them anyway! That seems more abusive to me ?
These look so so good! I love that you made muffin tops… and that you referenced that Gilmore Girls episode. That’s literally what I thought when I read the post title haha.
Thanks, Aya! And if there’s a Gilmore Girls reference to be made, you can bet I’ll make it. Love GG!