[RecipeFilter] Like muffins, but not as crumbly

November 12, 2018 6:13 AM

I'm looking for breakfast food/snack that is flour-based, with apples (I have a lot of apples to use up), easy to prepare in advance (the night before) that would be less crumbly than muffins. More like pancakes or bread in texture.

My baby is into finger foods but makes a terrible mess with muffins*. We don't have a lot of time to get ready in the mornings so I usually resort to giving her a slice of bread to munch on while I'm running around the house, but considering all these apples I have, I'd be nice if I could bake something with them that would contain more fibre/vitamins than plain bread.

*She mashes them and crumbles them up and then careeeeefully picks up each and every crumb and meticulously drops it to the floor to observe the effects of gravity.

posted by gakiko to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

I would try something like oatmeal-based breakfast bars, which will have a moister/chewier texture compared to muffins. Breakfast cookies are another option, but bars that you pour into a baking dish have the advantage of being lower effort :-)
posted by drlith at 6:29 AM on November 12, 2018 [2 favorites]

I often make a big batch of pancakes on the weekend and freeze most of them for weekday breakfasts. Could you do that and just add a bunch of apples, or cook them into applesauce and use that as the liquid?
posted by tchemgrrl at 6:30 AM on November 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yes, we also make pancakes for Sunday breakfast and whatever is left gets frozen (first on a sheet pan, then into a ziplock) for weekday breakfasts. We put them (directly from freezer) in a 350 degree countertop oven for about 5 minutes and they're warm and tasty. We usually add blueberries (this weekend it was blueberries AND bananas) but apples definitely work too. You can also experiment with adding bits of different spices.
posted by telepanda at 6:47 AM on November 12, 2018

I also have a recipe for breakfast bars based on rolled oats which are quite solid. Apple's could easily be added. Please memail if you're interested (I'll have to find it on my computer).
posted by jb at 6:48 AM on November 12, 2018

Jewish Apple Cake? I'm sure you could reduce sugar and cinnamon to taste based on your preferences. (This is just a random recipe. I don't have a specific one I like best.)
posted by ancient star at 6:49 AM on November 12, 2018

Yesss. Sliced-thin apples are heavenly in pancakes. You can place the slices in the pan and then pour the batter on top of them.
posted by fiercecupcake at 7:04 AM on November 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

This apple cake is delicious and probably not much sugarier than the average muffin (and obviously you could reduce the amount of sugar if you're worried about it.)
posted by coppermoss at 7:35 AM on November 12, 2018

I found my breakfast bar recipe - I made them slightly gingerbread flavour, but the only sweetner is molasses.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

spices to taste - I recommend
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove

1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup fancy molasses
2 tablespoons butter (melted)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup water

OPTIONAL:
Sunflower Seeds and/or
Diced Apples

try blueberries, diced bananas, raisons, nuts?

Directions:

Place rack in the center reheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat an 8x8 inch square pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt and spices. In a separate large bowl, combine the milk, molasses, egg, butter, and vanilla.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir to combine. The batter will be very wet. Fold in any optional additions, then pour into the prepared baking pan.

Bake for 35 minutes or until thickened and golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool, cut into bars, and serve.

(Bars should be kept in the fridge, but will last 1-2 weeks there)

posted by jb at 8:03 AM on November 12, 2018 [3 favorites]

pancakes. don't need to add any sugar, and you can add any fruit you want (eg small-diced banana, or minced apples that you nuke for a minute to soften before adding...) They're soft, solid, and easy to clutch in little baby hands.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:54 AM on November 12, 2018

Could you do that and just add a bunch of apples, or cook them into applesauce and use that as the liquid?

Some sort of an answer to this: we make vegan pancakes by using half apple juice, half fizzy water to make the batter (these are the Dutch style pancakes, normally just flour, milk, and a egg or two per half a liter of milk, not the much thicker spongy US style pancakes). They're quite OK and nearly indistinguishable from the original recipe, except that they don't take well to keeping leftover ones to eat the next day (unless you don't mind eating cardboard). With more juice and less water to get a more apple-y flavour you may need to add a bit of baking powder.
posted by Stoneshop at 2:18 PM on November 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

My wife makes a chunky-apple-based cake-tart kind of thing that, when soaked in a warm butterscotchy cream sauce, closely resembles a sort of pudding (the english pudding, not the jello kind) I’ll be happy to share it if you’d like. It’s crazy rich.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:41 PM on November 12, 2018

Response by poster: I tried making American-style pancakes with chunks of cooked apples, and they were great! I'll try out some more ideas, so we can have some variety in the mornings. Thanks everyone for the suggestions!
posted by gakiko at 1:06 AM on November 13, 2018 [3 favorites]