My Aunt Jean was visiting from North Carolina, and I asked her for her favorite recipe to make with her 3-year-old grandson, Avion. Her reply was, “I love cooking and baking everything with Avion, but our favorite is applesauce muffins. When I add the baking soda to the applesauce and the mixture fizzes, he gets so excited! Besides, they taste great, too.”
I took Aunt Jean’s advice and tried the muffins with my kids, Max and Lucie. They took turns measuring, mixing, and watching the bubbling applesauce mixture. Max said it reminded him of the volcanoes he’s made for science projects, “but hopefully it will taste better than volcano lava!”
They certainly did! The kids were proud of their soft, flavorful, moist muffins and couldn’t wait to share them with their dad.
Aunt Jean’s Fizzing Applesauce Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
4 oz. unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. allspice
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp. baking soda
Special equipment: a muffin pan with 12 1/2 cup muffin cups
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put butter and sugar into a large bowl and mix until smooth, then add the eggs and vanilla. Stir until combined. Sift the flour, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and allspice into a medium bowl. Slowly, add the flour mixture to the batter (in the large bowl), stirring with a spoon until all ingredients are combined. In a small bowl, add the baking soda to the applesauce and watch the mixture expand while you stir them together. Add the applesauce mixture into the large mixing bowl, stir until all the ingredients are well combined.
Spray the muffin tins with nonstick spray and fill each cup about 3/4 full. Use muffin liners if you would like, but they are not necessary. Bake until muffins are puffed and golden, about 17-25 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then remove muffins from pan and cool slightly.
Cooking with the kids
If you are cooking with younger chefs, they can start by gathering all the ingredients together onto the workspace. Make sure they don’t forget the measuring spoons and cups (have a 2-cup glass measuring cup on hand for the applesauce mixture).
Once you have all the ingredients and tools ready, start measuring and mixing. This is a great recipe to teach kids about food measurements. Talk about teaspoons, tablespoons, and cups. Let them measure each ingredient (you should double check!) then pour it into the bowl. The kids can smell the spices as they add them to see if they can identify them. The kids can do most of the mixing in this recipe, too, although you may have to assist them when their arms are “so tired.”
When it is time for the applesauce, measure it and put it into a large glass (or clear plastic) glass. Then add the baking soda. Watch it for a few minutes before you add it to the other bowl. The applesauce and baking soda will fizz and expand. Ours rose about an inch when we tried it. Ask the kids if it’s similar to any of their science experiments – like Max’s volcano.
Bridget O’Boyle is a parent of two and teaches kids and grown-ups to cook at Cooks of Crocus Hill.
