Apple-Cinnamon-Walnut Muffins

 Happy Sunday!

Here is another tasty addition to the-muffins-made-using-almond-pulp (and a buncha other stuff) collection...And they're vegan to boot! I was a vegan for a long time and I have decided to post more recipes without eggs for my vegan readers. (Know, too, that you can usually omit the eggs in these recipes, as the flax and chia are great binders on their own). One of the only baked goods I make that absolutely must have the eggs is the Amazing Chocolate Cake.

Anyhow, these are tasty nuggets of goodness, studded with juicy chunks of apple and crunchy bits of walnut, and they're not TOO sweet. I predict these won't last the weekend around here...

Apple-Cinnamon-Walnut Muffins
(makes 25 mini muffins and 8 large muffins)

• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 apples
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup chia gel (2 TBS chia seeds + water to make 1/2 cup gel, let sit for a few minutes to get gooey)
• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 cup flax meal
• 1 cup quinoa flakes
• 1 cup millet flour
• 1 cup almond pulp
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup sucanat or other natural sugar
• 2 TBS cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1 cup chopped apple (or one apple)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

• 1/4 cup sucanat
• 1 TBS cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

 Preheat oven to 350F.

In a blender, puree the orange juice through the vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine the flax meal through the cloves. Add the apple puree and mix until just combined. Add the chopped apple and walnuts and combine. 
In a small bowl, make the topping: combine the sucanat, cinnamon and walnuts.
Scoop muffin batter into muffin tins or if you have them, silicone muffin molds. Dip each muffin into the topping or sprinkle over the top if using tins. 
Bake small muffins for approximately 20-30 minutes, larger ones for 25-35 minutes, or until they feel firm to the touch.