Apple Cinnamon Muffins

It's officially fall! Now I don't know about you but my taste cravings start changing the moment Vancouver becomes raincouver (gloomcouver? dampcouver?). Well, whatever you call Vancouver in the fall, as soon as the air gets crisp and I start to pull out all of my warm layers, I feel a strong urge to start baking with two of my favourite things: apples and cinnamon.

This recipe is the first I ever created! So I mean I may be a little bit biased when I say that it's my favourite recipe. But seriously, these mighty little muffins are packed with flavour; sweet notes of honey and banana hum in harmony as they blend together with a generous heaping of warming spices and dark chocolate.

Plus, they're pretty damn easy to put together, almost dangerously so. The best part though, is that they're punching some serious health points, so I don't mind making them on a regular basis.

• 1 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

• 3 tbsp of honey

• 1 mashed ripe banana

• 1 cup of apple sauce

• 1 cup of coconut sugar

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp of cloves

• 1/2 tsp of salt

• 1 tsp of baking soda

• 1/2 cup of coconut oil

• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or 1/4 cup of blueberries (frozen or fresh)

Instructions:

To start, set the oven to 375 degrees. Mix in a bowl the apple sauce, coconut sugar, melted coconut oil, honey*, and banana. In a separate bowl, toss together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Make a well in the center and add the applesauce mixture. Fold in with a spatula or by hand, until blended well and moist. Add in dark chocolate chips and mix.

Grease your muffin tins if you've opted to forgo the liners. Fill the tins evenly and bake for 20 minutes.

Notes:

*If you're looking to make this completely vegan, switch out the honey for the same amount of maple syrup or molasses.