Autumn in Minnesota is an incredibly beautiful time of the year. The colors, the smells, the crisp air…it leaves me in awe every year. It’s also a fantastic time to utilize the fresh apples that are bursting with flavor. One of my favorites is the Honeycrisp variety and we typically go through a dozen a week in our house.

This recipe is bursting with flavor and mimics the vibrance autumn in Minnesota so vividly boasts. My kitchen smelled amazing as it cooked – as mentioned on Instagram, it smelled like autumn sucker punched me in the face {and I kinda liked it.} The smell of apples, spices and oats wafting through the kitchen and a cool evening breeze from open windows; what more could a girl ask for?

These would be fantastic muffins. In fact, these were meant to be muffins as I created the recipe, only to remember we packed up our muffin tins since we are moving in just 2 weeks. Packing 6 years of life, kids and memories in 3 weeks is a wonderful feat we are conquering with gusto…until a girl needs a kitchen item. Improvising has become a new norm, and in this case it worked out quite nicely. These are also dairy free for those who run in that crowd. Enjoy and happy Minnesota autumn, friends!

Ingredients:

For the Apples 

• 2 Honeycrisp apples, peeled and diced into small cubes
• 1.5 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

For the Bread

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup Almond milk
• 1 tbsp. organic Maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1.5 cup unbleached all purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
• 3/4 cup oats
• 1.5 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 Graham crackers – crushed well for topping

1. Preheat Oven to 350. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. If making muffins, line muffin pan with liners.
3. Peel and dice apples so the pieces are consistent in size. Add the sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and stir to coat the apples. Let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile in your Kitchen-Aid mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together wet ingredients well.
5. Add dry ingredients until combined. Do not over mix. Stir in seasoned apples and transfer to your loaf pan.
6. Crush the graham crackers and sprinkle atop the batter. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let cool 15 minutes before removing from pan.