MacIntosh Muffins Recipe

When I first got married this was the first recipe I tried "on my own" in the baking department, and truthfully I'm not a baker. My Mom and lots of my friends bake, but I've never been all that good at it. So, when I tried this recipe and accidentally forgot to add the flour (um? the main ingredient!) and they didn't turn out so great, I took a long break from baking (like fourteen years. no really. i did.). However recently, I made this recipe again, thinking my kids would enjoy a "muffin" (rather than our staple of cupcakes, lol) since that would be a nice breakfast food.

These muffins are not only fantastic, but they are very filling and you might find yourself eating two or maybe three, okay four.

This recipe came from a book called Just A Matter of Thyme, from the Among Friends restaurant in the Ozark Mountains. I went to college out there and picked up a few of their recipe books, and I'm glad I did. The recipes are fool-proof (just for me!) and everything I've tried always turns out wonderfully.

A secret to making sure you get the right amount of batter in your muffin pan is to use an icecream scoop. Mine has a little lever to it and works beautifully. This batter is very dense.

One thing that I do differently (from the recipe) is to put a "topping" mixture of sugar and coconut. When they're baking the coconut gets toasted and adds a nice taste and gives them that real-bakery-look.

When they're finished cooking, they not only look delicious but have the best taste and my kids love eating them.

Here's the recipe...

MacIntosh Muffins

1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

3 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

2 heaping cups of MacIntosh apples, peeled and chopped (I typically use any type of apple, but I find that a mixture of Granny Smith and Mac's are the best combination)

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup coconut

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Fill greased muffin tins or use paper cups (this is what I do) and fill the tins 2/3rd full with batter. This recipe makes 2 to 3 dozen (I usually get 24 exactly). Bake at 350 degrees, but if you notice that the top is browning too quickly, reduce the heat to 325 degrees after 10 to 15 minutes so you don't burn them (this is what I do). The entire baking time should take roughly 25 minutes (depending upon how quickly your oven bakes). Look for the "golden" crown (as shown in my own photo above) and then they're done.

If you use the papers in the tin, they "hold" together much better otherwise, after you pull them from the oven, leave them in the tin for about 5 or 10 minutes so they can stay together.

I hope you love them, we do and enjoyed them today in this cold snow weather we're having!