Apple Walnut Muffins from a much-maligned book

More than once, I've been caught saying nasty things about my 1997 edition of the Joy of Cooking. It's not that there's anything inherently bad about that volume, I just happened to grow up with one printed in the early seventies (white dust jacket, turquoise fabric cover) and love that one totally because it is so deeply familiar to me. However, last night I had to swallow all my heartless words, because the '97 version came through for me big time.

Last week I went apple picking. Scott and I picked a full bushel of apples. I've made apple sauce, apple crisp, apples with yogurt, eaten about 15 out of hand and still the box of apples doesn't seem to be visibly reducing. So I went looking for a recipe for a baked good that uses apples. I was hoping for a quick bread or muffin recipe that was low in fat, used several apples and tasted good. And I found it. The muffins came out light, tender and amazingly delicious (ate two as soon as they were cool enough to touch). This one is getting copied down and is going in the file. The recipe is after the jump. Apple Walnut Muffins
from the 1997 edition of the Joy of Cooking

I'm going to type the recipe exactly how it was written and then tell you below how I adjusted it.

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour instead)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used kosher)
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups grated apple (I used two overflowing cups, I have a lot of apples to get rid of here)
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used a little more than that and toasted them before folding them in)

Sift the dry ingredients together and then set aside. Whisk eggs and sugar together. Stir in apples and let sit for 10 minutes so that the apples release their juices. Stir in the melted butter and nuts. Fold into dry ingredients. Divide batter among 12 greased or lined muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes, until a testing stick comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes before removing them from the pans as they are very tender.

I did make a few adjustments when I made these. I didn't melt the butter. I creamed it with the sugar and then worked the eggs in. I added the apples after that and let it sit for a while. When I stirred the batter all together, it was a little dry so I added a tablespoon of orange juice, just to get it working. The muffins were gorgeous. It's just that after this cake, I'm a little sensitive about using melted butter.

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