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WW Recipe of the Day: Light & Healthy Apple Pecan Muffins
These apple pecan muffins from Ellie Krieger are a winner. With a 5 star rating on the The Food Network how could they miss? Moist and delicious, you’d never guess they were healthy.
I first made them years ago when I came across the recipe in Ellie’s first cookbook, The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life (affiliate link).
Apple Pecan Muffin Recipe Notes
This apple pecan muffin recipe is full of chunks of apple and topped with a delicious crunchy mixture of pecans, cinnamon and sugar.
The only change I made was adding 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to the muffin batter. And I used a Granny Smith apple instead of yellow delicious, since it’s what I had in the fridge.
Feel free to substitute walnuts for the pecans if you like.
It’s a delightful way to begin your day, with a cup of Greek yogurt or hard boiled egg.
How Many Calories & WW Points in these Healthy Muffins?
According to my calculations each muffin has just 213 calories and:
7 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
6 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
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Apple Pecan Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
Topping Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans (walnuts would work too)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Muffins Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 apple peeled, cored, and chopped
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the middle and preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Coat a standard 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl (affiliate link) mix together topping ingredients and set aside.
- Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Whisk the sugar, oil, eggs, applesauce, vanilla, and buttermilk in a large bowl until well combined. Stir the flour mixture into the liquid mixture just until combined. Gently stir in apple chunks.
- Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups. (I like to use an OXO Good Grips Cookie Scoop ) Sprinkle with nut mixture.
- Bake until the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, about 15-20 minutes.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes and remove them to a wire rack to cool completely or enjoy while still warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Source: slightly adapted from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life (affiliate link) by Ellie Krieger.
A note about WW Points
If you're following Weight Watchers, all the recipes here on Simple Nourished Living have been updated for the new WW program, with points displayed in the recipe card. The Check the WW Points link in the recipe card takes you to the Weight Watchers App where you can edit it using the WW recipe builder or add it to your day.
(Must be logged into WW account on a mobile device, such as smartphone or tablet).
can you just use all flour if you cant find wheat pastery flour?
Hi Karen, Yes, it’s fine to use regular AP flour! – Martha
Is there a difference between whole wheat pastry flour and whole bread flour? I have found the bread flour but not pastry.
Thank you for your response.
I donna, yes, they are different. Whole wheat pastry flour is softer so it works better in quick breads, cakes, muffins, etc. A good alternative to whole wheat pastry flour is white wheat flour if you can find it. Hope this helps!
These muffins look delicious…have you ever made them as a bread ( in a loaf pan ) ??? If so for how long did you bake it ??? any suggestions /tips /ideas appreciated …
Hi Doris,
I’ve never made this particular recipe as a bread in a loaf pan. But in my experience most muffin and quick bread recipes are interchangeable. So, I think it would work fine. I’d bake it at 350 and think it should take between 45 and 60 minutes to bake. Hope this helps.