spiced currant nut muffins

Whipped up these spiced currant nut muffins as a thank you to my neighbors for helping me get my car battery charged after it died. They said these were delicious and had the perfect amount of sweetness. I agree! They are great any time of year. However, with hints of pumpkin and cinnamon, they are particularly perfect for Fall. But, I doubt I'll be able to wait until then to make them again!

 

Spiced Currant Nut Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Equipment: two mixing bowls, whisk, spatula, large ice cream scoop, standard muffin tin

Ingredients:

Dry - 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup brown sugar 

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp cinnamon 

Wet - 

2 eggs (beaten)

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup applesauce

2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix-Ins (both optional) - 

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup currants (or other dried fruit you have on hand)

Instructions:

1) Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl and wet ingredients in a separate slightly larger bowl.

2) Add dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and mix well.

3) Add in walnuts and dried fruit.

4) Use large ice cream scoop to drop batter into 12 regular muffin tins lined with baking papers. 

5) Top with a sprinkle of rolled oats.

6) Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 20 minutes, checking for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of a muffin and ensuring it comes out clean. They may need another two minutes or so more, depending on your oven.

Note: These muffins rise enough for my preference. However, if you want them loftier, you can try adding the whole wheat flour into the wet ingredients to sit for 10 minutes or so absorbing some of the liquid while you work on getting the rest of the recipe prepped.