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…
[print_this]
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.
[/print_this]
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!
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!
I just love the chunks of apple!
Mmmm…I love all your “snack cookies”….especially fond of the itty bitty carrot cake cookies!
love,
cathy b.
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!
I am loving the sound of these! Your pictures have got my tummy growling :) Love that these are so good without being so bad!
Where has this recipe been all my life? It looks WONDERFUL! Thanks!
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.