Well, friends, my Dad's ashes are buried; we had a whirlwind trip to his home state of Missouri to accomplish this, and I absolutely adored the rolling hills and pastures lined with trees. I also immensely enjoyed seeing my cousins for the first time in about 34 years. My Mom is, unfortunately, still struggling with her health. And now it's back to school time, made more difficult because I'm helping my daughter get started in an online school. Have I preserved much this summer? Nope.

But we still have a lot of apple trees. I am grateful to God they aren't producing madly this year. This seems like a sweet kiss from Him, because I know if they were producing like bonkers, I'd be feeling stressed and guilty that I didn't have the energy to deal with them.

My kids eat a lot of fresh apples at this time of year, but there are also a few apple treats I make for them. No, they aren't low carb - and they certainly aren't keto. (Apples are much too high in natural sugars for that; even eating one slice of an apple spikes my blood sugar.) But they are a wonderful fall-ish treat: Easy to whip up, and, according to my family, DEEEEE-lish! If your family doesn't gobble them up right away, you can freeze them in individual bags and defrost them in the fridge the night before you want to eat them.

P.S. The Fall 2019 issue of Self-Reliance magazine - sister publication to Backwoods Home - has my complete article on apple recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Check it out!)


Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe 
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1 cup granulated sugar (If you're using a sweet apple variety, do feel free to reduce the amount of sugar used!)
3/4 cup coconut or avocado oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup coarsely chopped apples (I do not peel them.)




1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease the cups of a muffin pan; set aside.

2. Beat sugar and oil together until smooth.

3. Beat the eggs and vanilla extract into the sugar mixture.

4.  In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat until just combined.

5. Fold in the apples. (If you've been using a mixer, fold in the apples with a large spoon.)

6. Spoon batter evenly into 12 muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 - 25 minutes.