Wholesome Apple Muffins with Cottage Cheese (Excessive Protein!)

These wholesome apple muffins are the tall, domed, bakery-style muffins you’ve been picturing all fall — and the key that makes them more healthy is a scoop of blended cottage cheese folded proper into the batter, not a bland flourless swap. After greater than a decade of testing muffin recipes (and writing a couple of cookbooks alongside the way in which), I’ve landed on a components that will get that large bakery high with out sacrificing an oz. of taste, and if cottage cheese muffins haven’t impressed you earlier than, I believe this recipe will change your thoughts. Warmly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg and loaded with tart Granny Smith apple, these are the autumn breakfast (or snack) I make on repeat all season lengthy — with 7g of protein per muffin, they really preserve you full. They’re my newest addition to my wholesome muffin recipes lineup, and I believe you’re going to like them.

❤️ Why You’ll Love These Wholesome Apple Muffins

• Actual protein, not a gimmick: Blended cottage cheese delivers 7g of protein per muffin with none bizarre texture or taste — a real improve from the common protein muffins that depend on protein powder for his or her increase, and a fantastic addition to my high-protein breakfast recipes.
• You gained’t style the cottage cheese: Mixing it fully clean is the trick — it disappears into the batter, forsaking moisture and protein with zero curdy texture or tang.
• Bakery-style domed tops: Filling the liners all the way in which and baking solely 6 muffins at a time, spaced aside, provides you noticeably taller, extra domed tops than an ordinary batch of 12.
• Naturally sweetened, not overly candy: Simply ¼ cup of brown sugar sweetens the entire batch of 10 muffins, plus a lightweight cinnamon-sugar topping.
• Nice make-ahead breakfast: These muffins are freezer-friendly, so you may bake a batch and have a grab-and-go breakfast prepared for busy fall mornings.

Ingredient Notes

• Granny Smith apples: Tart, agency apples like Granny Smith maintain their form at 425°F as an alternative of turning mushy the way in which softer varieties like Purple Scrumptious do. I cube sufficient for each the batter and the topping, so that you get seen flecks of apple blended all through and some items on high of each muffin.
• Cottage cheese (4%, blended): That is the star ingredient in these cottage cheese muffins, and mixing it till fully clean in a meals processor or blender is what eliminates any curdy texture. I keep on with 4% cottage cheese as an alternative of a low-fat model as a result of it provides the richest, moistest crumb, and in case your cottage cheese seems particularly liquid, I like to recommend straining it earlier than mixing so the batter doesn’t end up too moist — the identical trick I take advantage of in my different high-protein cottage cheese recipes. For those who love baking with cottage cheese this fall, don’t miss my full roundup of fall recipes with cottage cheese.
• Avocado oil: Its impartial taste retains the crumb moist with out the heavier oil style that coconut oil or melted butter can go away behind, which is what most competitor recipes use as an alternative.
• Mild brown sugar: A easy pantry swap that’s simpler to maintain readily available than the maple syrup most “wholesome” apple muffin recipes name for, whereas nonetheless utilizing notably much less sugar than a basic bakery muffin.
• Cinnamon + nutmeg: My go-to heat fall spice combo — cinnamon is the star, and a small pinch of nutmeg rounds it out as a supporting word.
• Optionally available powdered sugar drizzle: Completely optionally available, however a fast drizzle over the cooled muffins provides them a bakery-shop end that’s good for a fall bake sale.

The Secret to Bakery-Type Muffin Tops

Getting an enormous, domed high on wholesome apple muffins comes down to 3 issues, and none of them are sophisticated.

• Fill the liners all the way in which to the highest: As an alternative of the standard two-thirds full, I fill every liner with 4-6 tablespoons of batter, proper to the highest of the liner. That further batter is what provides the muffin room to rise into an actual dome as an alternative of a flat high.
• Bake solely 6 wells at a time, spaced aside: Leaving an empty properly between every stuffed one means each muffin has room to broaden outward and up and not using a neighbor crowding it, and the empty wells don’t pull warmth away from the stuffed ones the way in which a totally packed tin would. It’s a small change, nevertheless it makes a noticeable distinction in peak.
• Begin scorching, then scale back the warmth: Baking at 425°F for the primary 5 minutes provides the tops a fast raise (bakers name this “oven spring”) earlier than the crumb has an opportunity to set. Dropping the temperature to 350°F for the remainder of the bake finishes cooking the middle by way of gently, with out burning the highest.

Variations

• Swap the cottage cheese: Full-fat plain Greek yogurt works 1:1 instead of the cottage cheese if that’s what you’ve gotten readily available; the feel might be barely denser and the protein a contact decrease.
• Add crunch: Fold in ½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans together with the apple for further crunch and texture.
• Skip the drizzle: These muffins are loads candy with out the powdered sugar glaze, so be happy to skip it for those who’re slicing again on added sugar.
• Make them gluten-free: Swap in a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour mix instead of the common flour; the feel might be barely denser however nonetheless scrumptious.

For those who’re craving extra cozy apple recipes this fall, don’t miss my straightforward apple crisp.

Storage & Make-Forward

• Room temperature: Retailer these muffins in an hermetic container at room temperature for 1-2 days. As a result of there’s contemporary cottage cheese folded into the batter, I preserve this window shorter than a typical bakery muffin, which is normally tremendous for 3-4 days.
• Fridge: Because of the dairy within the batter, these preserve properly within the fridge for as much as 5 days in an hermetic container.
• Freezer: Cool the muffins fully, then freeze them in a single layer earlier than transferring to a freezer bag for as much as 3 months. Reheat within the microwave or a 300°F oven for a couple of minutes.
• Make-ahead tip: I wish to bake the total batch (each rounds of 6) the evening earlier than a busy morning, so breakfast is able to seize straight out of the fridge.

FAQs