
The other night as I was giving my Recipes page a makeover, I realized that I have a bit of a thing for creating healthy snack cookies.
I have devoured…
1) Banana Apricot Spelt Oatmeal Cookies

2) Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies

3) Pumpkin Pie Banana Chunk Cookies


Healthy snack cookies bring me great joy. The other night, as I looked out my window to yet another blistery snow storm, I realized that I needed more joy in my life.
The kind of joy that tastes great, but still allows me to button my pants the next day. I needed joy with a healthy twist…
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Oil-Free Apple Pie Muffin Tops
Soft, and chewy with a mouth-watering Apple Pie flavour thanks to the big chunks of apple, walnut pieces, hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, and dash of fresh lemon juice. They are just like biting into a Muffin, so Eric promptly named them ‘Muffin Tops’, but don’t worry they are easy on the waistline! They don’t contain a lick of oil or vegan butter, but are still incredibly moist thanks to the cooked apple mixture and mashed banana.
Yield: About 17 Muffin Tops
Ingredients:
Apple Pie Mixture
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled (1 chopped, 1 grated)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Pinch of kosher salt (optional)
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 + 1/4 cup whole grain spelt flour
- 1 cup regular oats
- 1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Pinch of nutmeg (1/8th tsp)
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water), mixed together
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup mashed banana (1 ripe medium sized banana)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick mat. Set aside. Mix your flax egg together (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water) in a bowl and set aside.
2. Peel two granny smith apples. Take 1 apple and finely grate it. Now take the other peeled apple and chop it into 1 inch pieces. Add both to pot along with 1/4 cup pure maple syrup and 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice. Stir. Cook over medium-low heat while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, for about 5-10 minutes. Watch closely and reduce heat as necessary so you don’t burn it.
3. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix your wet ingredients: vanilla extract, almond milk, mashed banana, and gelled up flax egg. Whisk well.
4. When apple mixture has cooked and softened for about 5-10 minutes, add it to the wet ingredients and stir well. Now pour the wet mixture onto the dry mixture and stir well. It will take a bit of elbow grease to get the mixture fully mixed, but not to worry.
5. Scoop 2 tbsp or a bit more for each Muffin top, leaving about 1.5-2 inches between each. Do not press the mixture flat. Bake for 14 minutes at 350F or until slightly golden in colour, but still soft. Please note that these cookies should be soft and do not get crisp or firm. They have the texture of a muffin.
6. Cool on pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Makes about 17 Muffin Tops.
Nutritional info: (per cookie, makes 17): 105 kcals, 3 grams fat (0 sat fat), 19 grams carbs, 2 grams fibre, 8 grams sugar, 2 grams protein.
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First thing we do is mix the flax egg and set it aside to gel up.
Now, peel your apples. Grate 1 of the apples and chop the other into 1 inch pieces.

Perfecto!
Add both apples,1 tbsp lemon juice, and 1/4 cup pure maple syrup into a pot, stir well, and heat on medium-low.

Why cook the apples?
The reason I cooked the apples was to allow the maple and lemon flavours to soak into the apple, creating sweet, soft bites of apple, just like you’d find in an apple pie. The result was fantastic! It really didn’t add much time at all since you are preparing the other ingredients as they cook.
Meanwhile…

Whisk together the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (gelled up flax egg, 1/3 cup mashed banana, 1/4 cup almond milk, vanilla)

Fun Fact: The mashed banana served as the oil-replacer in this recipe.
After the apples have cooked on the stovetop for about 5-10 minutes, add them to the wet ingredients.

Stir all wet ingredients together, including this cooked apple mixture.

Now add the wet to the dry…

Mix well. It will take a while for the mixture to come together, but not to worry!

Stir until the flour is all mixed in. The batter will be very thick.
Scoop 2 tbsp of the mixture onto the baking sheet for each cookie/muffin top.

Bake for 14 minutes at 350F.

You will be left with an addicting snack cookie, that is like biting into a soft and chewy muffin top! My mother-in-law, friend Jessica, Eric, and I all gave these a big thumbs up and they went very fast. They are a great snack if you are looking for a pick-me-up that won’t give you a sugar crash.

I’m off to do my first Tempo run of my Winter 2011 Half Marathon training plan. Any tips for Tempo runs? I’ll do a recap of what I did and let you know how it goes…Wish me luck!
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{ 108 comments… read them below or add one }
Mmmm… those look great!! Good luck with your training plan!
I dreamt about those muffins after seeing the picture yesterday! Cannot wait to try these out!
ahhh these are fabulous. my mom will LOVE THESE!
Looking at this post makes me realize how long it’s been since I’ve made a healthy snack cookie. I’ll definitely be looking over your pages later today for inspiration!
Ang babe, those look amazing! Just love the step by step photos (as always).
these look so good angela! i love healthy snacks, i went through a huge muffin phase a few years ago and baked/created nothing but healthy muffins. so glad I wrote all the recipes down because I love to visit them often :) I have so many apples I’m thinking I’ll probably add these to my list of things to make!
These little guys are so cute!
Gleee these look great! My ‘fetish’ is small healthy or sem-healty bites. Can be tiny cookies, balls, truffles, frozen PB? choc glob, etc.
amazing! SO easy too!
PS I made those pumpkin pie cookies ages ago and they were amazing! The rest I haven’t tried, weirdly enough.
I love a “healthy” cookie recipe!!
These sound delicious Ange! I love apple pie and I like your healthified version! I often do tempo runs and I find one of the best things to do to spur me along is to plan my playlists properly so that the beat of the music doesn’t slow down too much, because I’ll unknowingly drop my pace – it’s weird but the music really does affect the way I run!
yum! It’d be so easy to make these gluten free too! I must try! Have fun running this morning!
Yum! Maybe these would be good with some fresh ginger too, I just bought a whole bunch. :)
Good luck!
YUM! I can’t wait to make these!
mmm how I love healthy cookies!! I need to add these to the to bake list!
Mmmm…I love all your “snack cookies”….especially fond of the itty bitty carrot cake cookies!
love,
cathy b.
I just love the chunks of apple!
I love the names you pick for the cookies almost as much as I love the recipes! Made your macaroni cheese last night and can’t believe how chessy it tastes even though there’s no cheese. Trouble is my husband loved it a bit too much and now wants me to make it again asap!
I hate bananas, but this looks sooo good. Do you think they could be replaced with applesauce, or can you even taste them in there?
I like how delicate and cute these look! I’m in a bit of a baking lull these days, so this may be just the recipe to help pull me out of my rut:)
I just love your site, Angela! You have the kind of creativity with healthy, satisfying food I wish I had!
These look amazing! I’m a huge muffin fan, so any muffin recipe that is healthy and good for the waistline gets an A+ in my book! Thanks for the recipe:)
These look amazing! I’m a huge muffin fan, so any muffin recipe that is healthy and good for the waistline gets an A+ in my book! Thanks for the recipe:)
Mm I love muffin tops, especially healthy ones :-)
You’ve defintiely kept me in full-supply of good cookies this winter! Those Sesame Pumpkin cookies were my favorite.
Apple may have to happen tomorrow… I have some ripe bananas begging to be used.
YUM!!!!!!!
I totally have a thing for small healthy cookies too. I am always looking for new ones, and I just got a bunch of bananas yesterday! I am on a sugar free kick though…so I might have to try to make these without the sugar. I think I’m up for the challenge!
This recipe looks so delicious!
Those no-bake almond butter chews are my fave after work snack right now. I have one when I get home so that while I cook dinner I’m not ravenous! These “muffin tops” look like they’d do the trick as well!
Good luck with your tempo run today!
Now THIS is the kind of muffin tops I can get behind :)
That looka amazing! I never know what to do with my left over apples that are on their last days so this is a great recipe! Usually I just munch on them until I’m sick of them ahahahaha!
Mmm… apple pie… These really look good. Another must try from you!
Thank you for your continued recipe inspiration, you’re helping to open my eyes on healthy baking alternatives and super delicious, healthy food!
Good luck with your half-marathon training!
Those look mouthwateringly delicious!
I love anything apple and pie related. :-) These look amazing. I wish I had the ingredients on hand right now!
Where has this recipe been all my life? It looks WONDERFUL! Thanks!
I am loving the sound of these! Your pictures have got my tummy growling :) Love that these are so good without being so bad!
Those look SO GOOD!!! Delicious! :)
Wow– what a great, healthy snack! I love how portable they are too!
And this is one of the MANY reasons I adore your blog. The healthy sweet snacks. Ah, yes!
These look yummy.
I like the two textures of the apple. I assume the grated helps old things together? And I love a “chunk” of fruit in my treats. Love that it’s so wholesome!
Yes I would agree that it holds it together more and it also adds a ton of moisture too!
These look incredible!!
I didn’t think I would love anything more than your pumpkin cookies – I think this might take the cake for a while. I’m planning on whipping up a batch pronto!
I have a spare apple that I couldn’t find a use for, and this recipe looks perfect! I’ll just half the recipe and make it gf. Yum!
The pumpkin semase cookie looks good too, I’ll have to try that next week!
Yummmmy!!…so easy and healthy to boot :) Most of us have these ingredients on hand too which makes it all that much better. Good luck with your run!!
P.S. I still marvel at your vegan Thanksgiving dinner, recipes and wonderful pictures! Truly a professional waiting to make the big leap. When’s that cookbook coming?! ;) Yah!!
*blushing* ;)
These muffin tops looks scrumptious! I love that they are oil-free, and the apple pie flavor sounds amazing!
Could you sub honey for the maple syrup? I have all other ingredients on hand except the Maple syrup. Look yummo!
I can’t see why not!
I love how simple the ingredient list is! Sometimes vegan baking freaks me out with all the weird sub-ins. These look great!
These look so moist and delicious! :D
Looks so good especially since I have a weakness for apple pie.
I love that they are called muffin tops. Definitely one of the most important things for me in cookies is the texture.
Another recipe that I’ll save and want to make asap!
omg, when is your cookbook coming out? haha, I would totally buy it if you had one!!!
I love your healthy cookie recipes! They are the only things that compel me to stray from my trusted go-to super charge me cookies. The carrot cake cookies are my favorite! These new ones must be made immediately.
i LOVE apples, those look just delicious, might be something i need to whip up
Hehe I believe the bakery near my apt calls these things “muffies”!
muffies…love that!
I love healthy snack cookies! These look delicious. My family is a big fan of apple pie so these would be great for them.
These look great, Angela! I love muffin top anything! And I love apples, oats, brown sugar, so seriously…cannot go wrong!
And the links to your older cookie recipes…some forgotten gems so thank you for un-earthing them so i could drool again :)
And of course, major props again, for the recipe reorganization project. That and watching paint dry are probably leaving you on the edge of your seat….so thank you for doing it for us all :)
I’m allergic to bananas (something the developed fairly recently, and I only discovered after downing two of them after a marathon…ugh). Do you think unsweetened applesauce would work in place of the mashed banana?
yes i think applesauce is a great idea! might want to use sweetened since bananas are so sweet…
Muffin Tops remind me of Gilmore Girls!
as always angela, these cookies look phenomenal. i don’t however have spelt flower, do you think i could use a combination of all purpose and whole wheat to get a similar result?
Yes I think you could for sure! Although, I would try using a couple tablespoons LESS of whole wheat + white flour.
I *think* the rule of thumb is 1 cup wheat flour = 1 cup + 2 tbsp of spelt flour. Although I could be wrong..
Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind:)
Just wow, another awesome creation from you! These look wonderful and I’d love to try them. Good luck with your training!
And these have been added to my “must-bake” list. ;) They look amazing!
I so wanna make these! All of the ingredients are staples in my kitchen, and I’m guessing in most readers of this blog! Will I have the time to tonight? One never knows but way to go Angela!
After seeing the carrot cake cookies, I HAD to make them today! Mine flattened out when baked, but they are SO DELICIOUS!
oooh I am a big fan of apple baked into things so I think I would adore these cookies!! Thanks for sharing :)
Filling and healthy :) I can’t get enough of treats that are simple and small enough to pop into the mouth ;) I have been the queen of little treats lately!
Anything apple owns my heart.
xxoo
How interesting! These look delicious. I’m all about healthy treats. :-)
I love healthy cookies. Can’t go wrong when it resembles a cookie.
Now those are my kind of cookies! delicious and healthy! thanks for sharing these awesome recipes.
I love apple pie, so when I saw these I was beyond excited! Thank you so much Ang :)
I literally just printed out every single one of those recipes. They all look delicious! Plus they’re healthy :) Thanks!!
I LOVE your healthy cookies! A delicious cookie without the extra unhealthy stuff added? What could be better?!? These look amazing, and I am making the asap :)
xo
Love that you call them muffin tops =] They look so moist and delicious!!
i just made these and they are yummy!! i used pink lady apples instead of granny smith and whole wheat flour instead of spelt because it’s what i had on hand. also, i used a little apple sauce in addition to the apples because my apples were small. turned out great, though! thanks for sharing another great, HEALTHY recipe :)
Good Luck on your training! These look delicious. My favorite part of a muffin are the tops :)
I have the hardest time keeping bananas around long enough to use them in a recipe. I always eat them first. :P I think I should start keeping a stash of eating bananas and a separate stash of baking bananas.
Thanks for sharing! We post all of the delicious recipes…with walnuts of course, and share them with all of our walnut loving friends. Anyone who loves the walnut, gets our love. If you have a post or are baking something delicious with walnuts, please let us know! Happy Walnut Wednesday!
Terrific! You had me at apple-pie :)
That would be delicious over some greek yogurt with cinnamon!
Okay – Book. Marked.
Holy crap, you had me at the freaking title of this post! When I can never decide if I want to make a muffin or a cookie, I dub it a “Mookie” ;)…better than “Cuffin” I think…?
Love healthy baked goods that are in the form of anything carby. Just made Banana Bread Muffins that are the best ever – and NO added sugar or oils! Soooo good! :)
Good luck with your tempo – do you run outside? Many days I can stay inside for a longggggg time – I really need to get out more, but can’t seem to bring myself to…
Those look wonderful! Vitatops has NOTHING on your muffin tops :) I love the postive spin on muffin tops…
Healthy cookies mean you get to eat more of them, right? :)
Yum! I was just thinking today about making some apple muffins. This is great
Gosh, lady, you post delicious recipes faster than I can make and eat them! My bookmarks are getting out of control, but I think this one might go to the top of the list ;)
Apple crisp in muffin form; I love that!
I JUST baked these and ate one, they are indeed DELICIOUS! Thank you so much! I have just recently started a vegan diet and studying your blog has really helped. And I’ve been craving a dang baked good (also have to reduce early diabetes2 so can’t just go buy one), and these were perfect. LOVE your work, blog, passion and drive…please keep fueling us! -Lana
Lana..u are a sweetheart. Thanks so much!
I knew I had to try to make these the minute I saw them. I had to change a couple of things so I could enjoy them too – made them gluten free, sugar free… but they were SO DELICIOUS! Holy moly. I’m in love.
If you’re interested in seeing the gluten and sugar free version Angela, check out: http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2011/01/apple-pie-muffin-clusters/
These are totally going to be a staple snack at our house. Thank you, thank you!
Just made these and they’re DELICIOUS. Please come up with new flavor variations! Perhaps banana and pumpkin?
Seriously, they are so good.
SO excited to try this recipe! I’m hoping it’ll bring me back to the days of warm apple pies in the fall when it wasn’t so frigid outside!
These look and sound so good! I really want to try them, but there’s one problem: I’m terribly allergic to bananas! :( Do you have any suggestions for other non-oil substitutions?
I would try applesauce :)
Made these for a “Biggest Loser” group i am helping at work. OMG sooo good! Couldn’t believe all the flavor that was packed in that moist little bite! Thank you so much!
Wow these are amazing!! I just made a batch and ate TWO right out of the oven. I’m so glad my husband’s friends are coming over tonight – otherwise i’d eat the whole pan myself. Thank you for making healthy eating so dang delicious. :)
This is my first time at ur blog. I’m loving the details and presentation of all your recipes. Its fantastic …from every angle !
Just baked these, so yummy and cute. I could npt feel any banana in there, in case someone is wondering. They were not too sweet, but sweet enough. Yummy healthy snack. I only wonder if they have to be “sponge” like? Mine were not crusnchy, even though I baked them for 15 minutes.
I don’t have spelt flour–do you think I could sub whole wheat flour?
I just made these and completely forgot to add the sugar to the dry ingredients. But when they were baked, I realised that they were perfect just as they were with the apple and maple syrup providing enough sweetness. As testament to which, I have just eaten three :-)
I just made these, they are delicious!! I halved the sugar, and they still taste great. Only issue is they never spread out at all, they stayed in a clump!! Any idea why?
Do you think I can make this recipe without nuts? I am hoping to make a healthy fall recipe for a friend with a nut allergy this weekend. I am thinking of substituting coconut milk for the almond milk and leaving out the walnuts. Do you think this would turn out okay? Any suggestions to replace the walnuts?