These apple fritter muffins are made with tiger nut flour and tiger nut oil for a gluten free treat that’s perfect for fall.
*Post updated 10/4/2017 – now includes a video (scroll down to watch!) on how to make these apple fritter muffins and an easy alternative to the tiger nut flour and oil used in the original recipe. See recipe below for alternative options.
A couple of years ago I made apple fritter muffins for a freelance article. They were beyond delicious (and one of my last happy memories with my Grandma who called me to tell me as much when I brought her a few right after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer) but also made with your typical AP flour and sugar mixtures, two things I don’t regularly eat any longer.
That said, I’ve been wanting to recreate that recipe ever since making it healthier all around. Having picked up my first bunch of local apples this past weekend, I figured now was as good a time as any.
I contemplated making these paleo, but when it comes to a fritter, the glaze is just a necessary component. I wasn’t going to sit here concocting a coconut butter glaze and try to tell you it tastes like the real deal apple fritter glaze, it just wouldn’t in this application. Sometimes you need a little powdered sugar in your life.
The muffin itself though is as clean eating as a whistle made with all purpose gluten free baking flour and tiger nut flour. While I’ve waxed poetically about my love of gluten free baking flour plenty of times, Organic Gemini’s tiger nut flour is a new to me product.
It’s a flour made from the tiger nut, a small root vegetable (not actually a nut as its name suggests) packed with iron, fiber and potassium. The flour itself is hearty with a nutty undertone and from my experience so far, acts a lot like almond or cashew flour would in baking. I also used their tiger nut oil in these apple fritter muffins instead of my usual baking oils to complement the nuttiness of the flour. The result is these gluten free treats perfect for snacking as fall rolls in.
If you’re being super healthy, sure, skip the glaze or go ahead and try to make one with coconut butter and some lemon juice but honestly, the real deal powdered sugar glaze is where it’s at for these.
Check out this guide on how to choose the best baking apples, choose your favorite variety and get a batch of these in the oven this fall!
Apple Fritter Muffins
Ingredients
For the Apples
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped Granny Smith apples, about 1 large apple
- 1 tablespoon tiger nut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour/starch
For the Muffins
- 3/4 cup gluten free baking flour
- 1/2 cup tiger nut flour
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour/starch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons tiger nut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup milk, any kind will do
For the Glaze
- 2 tablespoons warm milk
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Apples
- Add the tiger nut oil to a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Add the apples, cinnamon, sugar and water then mix to combine.
- Cook for about 3 minutes until apples are softened.
- Turn off the heat, add the tapioca flour, mix and set aside.
Muffins
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 9 muffin tins with liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- Whisk together the applesauce, tiger nut oil, vanilla, egg, coconut sugar and milk in a large bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine.
- Fold in the apples from the skillet and mix until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin liners and bake for about 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Glaze
- While the muffins cool, whisk the ingredients for the glaze together in a small bowl.
- Once muffins have cooled for about 15 minutes on the cooling rack, dip the tops into the glaze and place back on the rack. You can dip the muffins 2-3 times depending on how thick you want the glaze, just wait about 5 minutes in between to give the layers of glaze a chance to thicken.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*Thanks to Organic Gemini for sponsoring this post. All content and opinions are my own.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Hi, I’m trying to make this without tiger nut flour or tiger nut oil. I don’t have those items readily available. I can’t tell from the video if you substituted the same amount of coconut oil for tiger nut oil? Did you just use more gluten free flour to replace the tiger nut flour? They look delicious! Thank you!
Yes, the oil amount is the same. To replace the tiger nut flour, I would use the same amount of gf flour or you can try some almond flour or cassava flour if you have that instead.
@Gina Matsoukas, Thank you so much!
I have been dying to try Tiger flour! It would be perfect for all the muffins I make.
These look so good! I’ve never heard of that flour but I’ll have to add it to my list!
I’ve never heard of tiger nut flour before and I’m curious! These muffins look fantastic and a little glaze is good for everyone!
Tiger nut flour say wha?! There’s so many GF flours out there today, and I want to try them all! Especially when apple fritters are involved. ;)