September m.o.m.- Rye Applesauce Muffins

I've always had a good variety of different flours in my pantry, but it's only been with my increased baking in the past year that I've worked with rye flour. To me "rye" had always brought associations of caraway seeds, toast with butter, or pastrami sandwiches. But there is more to this grain than NY deli rye bread. What I've learned is that rye flour produces some wonderfully soft and tender baked goods. In fact, I regularly add it to the bread that I bake for our morning toast.

For September's Muffin of the Month for my mom I was looking for an apple-based muffin. Nothing suits early Fall baking better than apples! I had several possible candidates in mind, but when I saw the recipe for Rye Applesauce Muffins in my Fanny Farmer Baking Book, I was reminded of the lovely Rye Apple Cake that I baked last year, with the added bonus that the muffin recipe calls for loads of autumn spices.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- I made a batch of homemade applesauce to use in these muffins: cut and peel 6 apples, place in a saucepan with 1 c. water and 1/2 c. sugar, simmer for 45 minutes, then mash. I like my applesauce pretty rustic, with nice pieces of apple, so I don't go crazy with the mashing. You can add cinnamon and/or finish the applesauce with a tablespoon or two of butter, but I left them both out, since the muffins had plenty of spice and butter. I ended up with a couple of cups of applesauce, so had leftover sauce after I measured out the amount needed for the muffins

the verdict:

Although the picture makes them look dry, these muffins were a perfect texture:
soft, chewy, moist, spiced, with wonderful pieces of apple - a delicious muffin for Fall!

the recipe:

Rye Applesauce Muffins

4 T (1/2 stick, or 1/4 c) butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 c applesauce (I used homemade, see notes above)
1 c all purpose flour
1 c rye flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup raisins (I omitted because my mom doesn't like them in baked goods)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the muffin pans or line them with paper baking liners (I used greased silicone muffin pans)

2. Combine the butter, brown sugar, and egg n a large mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Stir in the applesauce.

3. In another mixing bowl,combine the all purpose flour, rye flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and stir together with a fork or whisk to mix well.

4. Add the combined dry ingredients, the milk, and the raisins to the applesauce mixture, and beat just until the batter is barely smooth - about 20 seconds with a mixing spoon.

5. Spoon into the muffin pans, filling each one about 3/4 full. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and serve warm.