Oat, Apple & Sunflower Seed Muffins - A Healthy Breakfast Option

 

 

If you love wholesome, feel‑good baking, these Oat, Apple & Sunflower Seed Muffins are the perfect way to start your morning. Made with hearty oats, fresh apple, and crunchy sunflower seeds, they’re naturally sweet, wonderfully moist, and packed with texture. This easy muffin recipe comes together quickly and makes a nourishing breakfast or snack that feels both comforting and satisfying.

 

This  recipe is one that I adapted from a book on baking muffins that came highly recommended by my Bishop's wife  when I was living down in Kent. It comes from the book  Mad About Muffins by Diana Bonaparte. This was such an excellent book that I chose to replace it when I moved back to Canada.

These Oat, Apple & Sunflower Seed Muffins are one of my favorite muffins to bake from the book. Moist and delicious they are quite healthy, containing apple, sunflower seeds, and porridge oats. 

I adore muffins, especially muffins that are not like cake.  When I eat a muffin I don't want a piece of cake, or muffins that are like eating cake. Muffins that are too light and overly sweet. When I want a muffin, I want a muffin as it is supposed to be.  Slightly raised with rounded pebbly tops.  The insides filled with nice holes. Perfect for spreading with a tiny pat of butter.  These muffins that are just that. The perfect muffin.

Whether you enjoy them warm from the oven or tucked into a lunchbox, these muffins are a delicious way to bring simple, homemade goodness into your day.

 

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

TO MAKE

OAT, APPLE & SUNFLOWER MUFFINS

There is nothing out of the ordinary here unless you consider sunflower seeds to be extraordinary.

• 2 cups + 1 TBS (285g) plain all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup (50g) porridge oats
• 6 fluid ounces (170ml) whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup less 2 TBS (100g) butter
• 2 1/2 TBS (50g) golden syrup (can use honey)
• 1 large sweet eating apple, unpeeled, cored and chopped finely
• 3 TBS (20g) hulled sunflower seeds

To top:

• 2 TBS jumbo oats
• 1 TBS hulled sunflower seeds
• 1 TBS demerara sugar

 

Do not use self-rising flour. The leavening ingredients will be off and you will not have a nice muffin.

If you are in the U.K. you could use soft light muscovado sugar. This is a type of brown sugar with a higher molasses count.

Porridge oats are whole rolled oats that have been steamed and flattened. They cook quickly and easily. They are not the same as Quick Oats, which are oats which have been broken into pieces to cook quickly.

I use whole milk as that is the only kind of milk I keep in my house. You can use regular 2% milk. 

I use salted butter as that is the only kind of butter I keep in the house.

I use golden syrup but honey works just as well.

Use any type of sweet eating apple.  By that I mean an apple that you are happy eating out of hand, not an apple that is very tart and meant only for cooking with.

Jumbo oats are also known as old fashioned oats.

 

HOW TO MAKE

OAT, APPLE & SUNFLOWER SEED MUFFINS

Like any muffin, these go together quickly and easily. It is a simple matter of mixing the dry ingredients together with the wet.

1. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a 12 cup medium muffin tin with paper liners, or butter the tin and dust well with flour, shaking out any excess. Set aside. (This will help to prevent the muffins from sticking. I use paper liners myself. Much easier.)
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
3. Push the brown sugar through a fine sieve and stir it into the flour. (This will help to remove any lumps from the brown sugar.)
4. Stir in the porridge oats.
5. Whisk together the milk and eggs in a measuring beaker, beating together with a fork. (Make sure they are well mixed together.)
6. Heat the syrup and butter together until the butter melts. (This won't take long. I do it in a beaker in the microwave. Heat on high just until the butter begins to melt. The heat from the syrup will finish the job.)
7. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the milk/egg mixture and the syrup/butter mixture all at once. Stir together just to moisten. (Do not overmix or you will have tough muffins. It is quite acceptable to have a few lumps.)
8. Stir in the chopped apple and sunflower seeds. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups.
9. Sprinkle the jumbo oats on top of the batter, then the sunflower seeds and finally the demerara sugar.
10. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until well risen and golden brown and the top springs back when lightly touched.
11. Tip out to a wire rack to cool for a bit prior to eating. Lovely warm, and pretty good cold as well!

 

HINTS AND TIPS FOR GREAT MUFFINS

Here are my hints and tips for making sure that your muffins turn out beautifully every time:

1. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. To prevent the mix from being overworked, first mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and mix the dry ingredients in another. Make a well in the dry ingredients, carefully pour in the wet ingredients, then stir the mix a couple of times to roughly combine. 

 2. Don't over mix your muffins. The most important rule of muffin making is to not over stir the mix. What you really want is to just moisten the ingredients. Do not stir or beat the batter until it is smooth and lump free. You want the final mix to be lumpy, and thick with a few floury streaks.

 3. Add your flavors last.  While spices should be added with all the other dry ingredients, additions like fruit and nuts should be added last. Give the batter one more light-handed stir once you've added them in just to combine.  

4. Line the pans. You can choose to either grease the muffin tin or line it with paper liners. If you choose to forgo the liners, make sure you grease the base and sides of the cups with oil spray or a little melted butter. If you're not going to eat the muffins for a while, do use paper liners as these will keep the muffins fresher for longer. 

 5. Don't overfill your pans. Aim to fill the cups ¾ full to get muffins with nice round tops and to prevent them from spilling out over the top of the cups.  Often if your tins are over filled the muffins will rise to the top and then collapse on themselves.

 6. For extra interest, add a flavorful sprinkle on top.  Once the muffin cups are all filled, you can choose to sprinkle the tops with more fruit, nuts or a crumble topping, even sanding sugar or cinnamon sugar, for even more taste and or crunch. As the muffins rise these toppings will cook into the tops of the muffin.  

7. Protect your baking pan.  If there isn't enough batter to fill all the cups, half fill the empty ones with water. This will help the muffins bake evenly and will help to protect your pan from buckling. 

8. Cooling them down. Once you remove the muffins from the oven, let them sit in their pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. This is especially important for muffins that aren't in a paper liner, as it will help them from falling apart. However, remove them after five minutes otherwise you risk them going soggy as they cool in the pan. 

9. Freeze extras for later. Muffins freeze beautifully, so if you can't enjoy them all on the day they're baked, wrap them in plastic wrap  tightly,  and put them in the freezer for later. They will keep for about 3 months and reheat wonderfully in the microwave for about 30 seconds on high from frozen. 

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CAN THESE MUFFINS BE MIXED TOGETHER AHEAD OF TIME?

If you like you can mix together the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately, ready to mix together when you are ready to bake them. The dry ingredients can be kept in a bowl, covered on the countertop. The wet ingredients should be kept in the refrigerator, covered. Bring them to room temperature before mixing and baking. I would not do this more than 24 hours ahead of time.

WHAT IS PORRIDGE OATS?

Porridge oats are whole rolled oats that have been steamed and flattened. They cook quickly and easily. They are not the same as Quick Oats, which are oats which have been broken into pieces to cook quickly.

CAN I CUT THIS RECIPE IN HALF?

Yes, you can absolutely cut this recipe in half.  Simply divide all of the ingredients by two. Bake times will remain the same and you will be able to make six delicious muffins rather than 12.

CAN THESE BE FROZEN ONCE BAKED?

Yes, these can be frozen after baking. Simply wrap  each muffin individually in some cling film and then place them all into a zip lock baggie, label and date.  That way you can take out as many or as few as you wish to eat. You can thaw them on the countertop for several hours, or you can gently reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds on high. You can freeze them for up to three months, properly wrapped.

HOW LONG WILL THESE MUFFINS KEEP ONCE BAKED?

They will keep for up to five days once baked. Store in an airtight container.

 

A FEW OTHER MUFFIN

RECIPES FOR YOU TO ENJOY

Here are a few other muffin recipes which I really enjoy that I think you will enjoy also!

SPECIAL K BREAKFAST MUFFINS - These are the PERFECT breakfast muffins. Quick and easy to make. Delicious. I highly recommend.  Simple and filled with fiber. You can use ordinary Special K cereal, or you can be a bit more extravagant and use one of the varieties which contain fruit.  This recipe makes half a dozen fabulous muffins.  

ULTIMATE BUTTERMILK BRAN MUFFINS - I think my favorite type of muffin of all the types of muffins you can get today are plain old fashioned Bran Muffins. There is nothing pretentious about them.  They are simple and they are delicious. This recipe for Buttermilk Bran Muffins is especially delicious, yielding a muffin that is super moist and delicious, with a well rounded bakery style top. You cannot go wrong with one of these!  

 

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Yield: One dozen muffins

Author: Marie Rayner

Oat, Apple & Sunflower Seed Muffins

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 22 MinTotal time: 37 Min

In one word, MOREISH. Adapted from the book Mad About Muffins by Diana Bonaparte. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups + 1 TBS (285g) plain all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup (50g) porridge oats
• 6 fluid ounces (170ml) whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup less 2 TBS (100g) butter
• 2 1/2 TBS (50g) golden syrup (can use honey)
• 1 large sweet eating apple, unpeeled, cored and chopped finely
• 3 TBS (20g) hulled sunflower seeds

To top:

• 2 TBS jumbo oats
• 1 TBS hulled sunflower seeds
• 1 TBS demerara sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a 12 cup medium muffin tin with paper liners, or butter the tin and dust well with flour, shaking out any excess. Set aside.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
3. Push the brown sugar through a fine sieve and stir it into the flour.
4. Stir in the porridge oats.
5. Whisk together the milk and eggs in a measuring beaker, beating together with a fork.
6. Heat the syrup and butter together until the butter melts.
7. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the milk/egg mixture and the syrup/butter mixture all at once. Stir together just to moisten.
8. Stir in the chopped apple and sunflower seeds. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups.
9. Sprinkle the jumbo oats on top of the batter, then the sunflower seeds and finally the demerara sugar.
10. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until well risen and golden brown and the top springs back when lightly touched.
11. Tip out to a wire rack to cool for a bit prior to eating. Lovely warm, and pretty good cold as well!

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