You know what I realized recently? Streusel makes people happy. Yes, so does coffee, free money, puppies, vacation…and sleep (shout out to the new moms out there). But STREUSEL. That buttery, sweet, salty, just-right-amount-of-crispy goodness. It almost doesn’t matter what is underneath the streusel. It’s just all about the streusel.
A few weeks ago I had a hankering to bake, so I asked Chris what type of muffins he likes. His answer was immediate: “anything with strudel on top”. Aka streusel. The man literally doesn’t care what lies underneath, as long as he’s got a magical dusting of oat-sugar-butter clusters in each bite.
So what do we do? We bake moist, cinnamony, (healthy), high-fiber apple muffins and top them with streusel. Best of both worlds, right? We’ll even make them dairy- and egg-free for good measure. Because everyone, regardless of diet preferences or restrictions, deserves to enjoy the happiness that is these whole wheat apple streusel muffins. Nothing bland or rubbery for me, thanks.
Whole Wheat Apple Streusel Muffins Explained
We have grated apple, applesauce, and coconut oil for moisture, honey for subtle sweetness, whole wheat flour for hearty texture, and cinnamon, allspice, and ginger for warm cozy spiciness. Ground flaxseed replaces the eggs and serves as the binding agent. But the streusel topping (of course) steals the show. Oats, whole wheat flour, walnuts, and brown sugar create the crinkle crunchy texture that we all know and love. I used coconut oil instead of butter, and honestly couldn’t tell the difference (and neither could Chris).
Nutrition Benefits
These whole wheat apple streusel muffins are full of high-fiber ingredients: apples, ground flaxseed, whole wheat flour, and oats. Grating the peel along with the apple is a great way to maximize the nutrition benefits, since the majority of the apple’s fiber is found in the peel. Each muffin has 4 grams of fiber (just under 20% of your daily goal), making them a sweet snack you can feel good about!
Each muffin is absolutely packed with apple pie-esque flavor, a perfect sidekick for a cup of tea or coffee. Or water. Or by itself, really. We currently have a freezer full of muffins thanks to recipe testing, and I must say we’ve been flying through them at an alarming rate. I’ve found myself making a cup of tea just so I have an excuse to eat another muffin. If you’re looking to gift somebody with a healthy freezer-friendly snack (new baby, housewarming, get-well-soon come to mind), these muffins would be just the ticket. Because streusel really does = happiness 🙂
Whole Wheat Apple Streusel Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons ground flaxseed meal
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup smooth unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup melted refined coconut oil or canola oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups grated apple (about 2 medium apples, including peel)
Streusel:
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup quick oats
- 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup refined coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or spray with a nonstick cooking spray.
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For the muffin dry ingredients: in a large bowl stir together the whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and salt.
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For the muffin wet ingredients: in a separate medium bowl, mix together the ground flaxseed, water, applesauce, melted coconut oil, honey, and vanilla.
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Mix the wet muffin ingredients into the dry, stirring with a fork until almost all the flour is combined.
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Fold in the grated apple with a spatula, and mix gently until no flour clumps remain.
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For the streusel topping: stir together all 7 ingredients (whole wheat flour, brown sugar, oats, walnuts, coconut oil, cinnamon and salt) with a fork until combined. Then use your hands to press and squeeze the crumbs together until they form clumps.
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Spoon the muffin batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each muffin cup just over 3/4 full.
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Crumble about 2 tablespoons of streusel topping over each muffin.
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Lightly press down on the crumb topping with your fingers, so the crumbles don't fall off once the muffins are baked.
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Bake at 425 degrees F for 5 minutes, and then decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
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Bake for another 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean (a crumb or two is fine, you just don't want wet batter stuck to the toothpick). The crumble topping will be golden brown.
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Let the muffins cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes, and then place them on a cooling rack while you repeat the baking process with the remaining batter. You should have about 3 muffins worth of batter remaining for the second batch, to make a total of 15 muffins.
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Let the muffins cool completely before storing them in an air-tight container. They keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you keep them in the fridge I'd highly recommend eating them slightly warmed- 15 seconds in the microwave does the trick for me!
Recipe Notes
- When baking the second batch of 3 muffins, keep an eye on the cooking time. I found they cooked slightly faster because there was less batter in the pan. It took my second batch of muffins only 17 total minutes (5 minutes at 425 F and 12 minutes at 350 F) to cook through.
- Use any type of apple, but the sweeter varieties (like Pink Lady or Fuji) would make for a sweeter muffin than Granny Smith.
- Use refined coconut oil to maintain a neutral flavor, but if you'd like to add a coconut flavor to the muffins and topping feel free to use unrefined coconut oil.
- To make gluten-free, try substituting a gluten-free flour blend for the whole wheat flour (I have not tried it myself).
- To make nut-free, omit the walnuts in the streusel topping.
- The Nutrition Facts for 1 muffin are: 215 calories, 4 grams fiber, 3 grams protein, 10 grams fat, 32 grams carbohydrate.
- You can omit the streusel topping if desired. The Nutrition Facts for 1 muffin without the streusel are: 145 calories, 3 grams fiber, 3 grams protein, 5 grams fat, 25 grams carbohydrate.
These muffins were inspired by Sally’s Baking Addiction’s Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Muffins and King Arthur Flour’s Streusel Topping.
Lisa
LOVED these! So moist and flavorful, unlike many other whole wheat muffin recipes I’ve tried! The streusel topping was perfect. Will definitely be making these again.
Ruthie
Hi,
What is the nutritional information on just the muffins? I have a daughter with PKU, she’s limited to 7.5 gm of protein daily and sometimes it’s difficult to find a snack we all love so she doesn’t have to feel left out.
Sarah
Hi Ruthie! The Nutrition Facts for just the muffin (no streusel) are listed in the recipe notes section: 145 calories, 3 grams fiber, 3 grams protein, 5 grams fat, 25 grams carbohydrate. Most of the protein comes from the ground flaxseed (1.3g protein per tablespoon), and flour (12g protein per cup.) Most gluten-free flour blends have a similar protein content to whole wheat or white flour. Cake flour seems to be slightly lower in protein than other flour options (8g per cup), so maybe you could try substituting that! I have not tried it myself. I wouldn’t leave out the flaxseed otherwise the muffins won’t hold together well. If this recipe isn’t the best option for your daughter, I hope you’re able to find one that is! 🙂