Easy Apple Oat Muffins with Calamansi Frosting

Raine contemplating which Apple Oat Muffin she's going to eat first. And look at that calamansi frosting drip down the sides!

I've been trying to bake regularly, since I want Raine to bring healthy snacks to school. Breeze also has the makings of a serial muncher (so like Mommy!), so I want to make sure that there are healthy stuff to eat around the house. But one major reason I'm so excited to bake these days is because The Hubby, who doesn't have a sweet tooth, and who never really liked pastries and baked goodies, asked me the other day when I was going to bake next. I was thrilled to know that he enjoyed my oven efforts, and that he actually looked forward to my baking.

Today, I made Apple Oat Muffins, and since calamansi is cheap these days, I added a calamansi frosting (you can substitute lemon; would love to try this with lime. Orange, I assume will work too).

What you'll need:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 C milk
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 3 tbs calamansi or lemon juice. I think next time, I'll put more. The cinnamon-apple flavor drowns out the tangy flavor (then again, the frosting makes up for it)
• 3/4 C quick cook oats
• 1 1/4 C unsifted all purpose flour
• 1/2 C packed brown sugar (I used Muscovado since that's what I had on hand)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (I didn't have this, so I skipped it, but it adds a nice twist)
• 1 C finely chopped apples. I used whatever I had on hand, which was a Fuji apple; I'll try grating it next time. Also, you could try tossing the pieces in calamansi or lemon juice to stop the browning (not like it matters when it's all baked)
• 1/2 C chopped nuts (optional; I think it would've made the muffins too chunky and I didn't have any on hand)

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Grease or line your muffin pans. I made 12 mini muffins and 12 small muffins with this batter.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl, except the apples and the nuts, if using.
4. In another bowl, beat the egg. Add the milk, oil and calamansi or lemon juice. Beat well.
5. Add the oat mixture to the egg mixture. Add the apples and nuts.
6. Mix gently, only until moistened. The batter will be thick and chunky.
7. Spoon into the muffin tins.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Cool on a wire rack.
10. Frost, if you want to (we want to! we want to!)

The frosting is simple and oh-so-yummy. Mix together half a cup of powdered sugar, one tablespoon of calamansi juice (I used a wee bit more) and a tablespoon of melted butter. That's it! Dip in a finger and enjoy. You can use it on the muffins too. It will keep in the ref for a few days (not sure how long, since it's always wiped out in a few days). The juice also gives it a happy, lemony color. But Raine is asking for colored icing next time, so I may use food coloring in the future.

I made 24 pieces of this (12 small and 12 even smaller). But I think it won't last too long. The kids would've finished the entire tray if I let them!