H e b r e w T r e e

A few months ago I was working at SMCC for MOPS. A mom brought in these muffins for the kids and I had one for myself. They were the best muffins I had ever had and couldn't believe that a mom made them.
The immediate flavors I could taste were cinnamon and oats. I couldn't put my finger on anything else. I just wanted to have another! ...And I did. =0]

When the mom came back to pick up her kid I asked her where she got the recipe and what was in it. She told me that it was from this cookbook called "Deceptively Delicious" and that there were carrots, unsweetened applesauce, old fashioned oats and butternut squash. I couldn't believe how good these were with all that stuff in there. She said that the cookbook was for moms who had picky eaters and it was all about sneaking in the fruits and veggies in everyday decieving foods like brownies, pizza and muffins.

Ever since then I've looked at the book, held it in my hand, walked up to the cash register, then would put it back. I'd flip through the pages and see all the wonderful recipes but never actually committed to buying it. Until last night! That's right. I bought it last night and made those wonderful muffins!

People, I am not kidding around. This recipe is wonderful and not that difficult to make. Trust me, I am able to mess up almost every recipe I attempt and these muffins came out wonderful! Just ask Danielle.

Here's the recipe:

Applesauce Muffins with a crunchy streusel topping(with butternut squash or carrot)

Prep: 20 min
Total: 40 min
Makes 12 muffins (Although I had plenty of batter left over to make another 6-10 muffins)

• Nonstick cooking spray or muffin cups

TOPPING

• 2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, melted

BATTER

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup nonfat (skim) milk
• 1/2 cup butternut squash or carrot puree
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 large egg

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.
2. To make topping, stir together the oats, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the margarine.
3. To make the batter, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl or ziplock bag and stir or shake mix. In a second bowl, mix the applesauce with the milk, vegetable puree, sugar, oil, and egg with a wooden spoon. Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring until just moistened. Do not overmix--the batter is suppose to be lumpy.
4. TO PUREE CARROTS: PEEL, TRIM THE ENDS, AND CUT INTO 3-INCH CHUNKS. STEAM FOR 10-12 MINUTES. IN A FOOD PROCESSOR OR BLENDER PUREE THE VEGETABLES FOR ROUGHLY 2 MINUTES OR UNTIL VEGETABLES ARE A SMOOTH TEXTURE, ADD A FEW TEASPOONS OF WATER IF NEEDED.
5. TO PUREE BUTTERNUT SQUASH: CUT OFF STEM, CUT SQUASH INTO HALF LENGTHWISE AND SCRAP OUT SEEDS. ROAST THE HALVES ON A COOKIE SHEET, FLESH-SIDE DOWN, AT 400 F FOR 45-50 MINUTES. SCOOP OUT THE FLESH AND PUREE IN A FOOD PROCESSOR OR BLENDER FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES OR UNTIL TEXTURE IS SMOOTH.
6. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle with streusel topping. Bake until the topping is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cetner of the muffins, 18-20 minutes. Turn muffins out onto a cooling rack and serve warm or cool.

I absolutely love this recipe and hope you venture out to try a healthy, good-for-you snack! Not only was this the first real success I've had trying to bake something, (most of the time its in a box of pre-mixed goodness and I still manage to burn it or something) this was something that I was able to cross off my Life To Do list!