Vegan Apple Pecan Muffins

My parents live in Travelers Rest, above Greenville. I'm so jealous of their frequent mountain trips - they always have the best food. We're lucky that they always bring something back to share. Last weekend my mom gave me the sweetest little apples that she got up near Hendersonville.

I decided to try the Apple Pecan Muffins from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Joy of Vegan Baking. These ended up being delicious....the 2nd time around. For the first batch, I decided to try using an all-natural substitute sweetener - Stevia (this was not recommended by Patrick-Goudreau). It was terrible. I had to try it again w/ regular sugar - it ended up being delicious. The really cool thing about these muffins is that the egg replacer is FLAXSEED!!! How healthy, right?

CPG recommends using whole flaxseed, grinding and mixing w/ water, similar to how you would use Ener-G Egg Replacer. I've read that flax goes rancid fairly quickly...I'm keeping them in my freezer...I'll let you know how that works out.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

6 tablespoons water

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped raw apples

1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease muffin tins.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a food processor or blender, whip the flaxseed and water together, until it reaches a thick and creamy consistency.

In a separate bowl, combine the applesauce, oil, sugar, vanilla, and flax mixture. Beat with an electric hand mixer or wire whisk until creamy smooth. Add to the flour mixture, stirring until well blended. Do not overmix. Fold in the apples and nuts.

The batter will be thick rather than smooth and wet, but it's okay. If you feel it's too stiff, you may add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water.

Fill the greased muffin tins about three-quarters full. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Cool in tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.