Chunky Apple Bacon Muffins

Ingredients

Set-up and Fillings:
• 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked and toasted if possible. (See All About Nuts)
• 5 ounces organic bacon cut in 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 apples, peeled and coarsely chopped (c. 180 grams)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Wet ingredients:
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 113 grams coconut butter (1/2 cup if soft) (if mixing by hand, soften it by placing the container in a bowl of warm water)
• About 3/4 cup sweetener to taste such as Just Like Sugar Brown natural chicory root sweetener, or 2 tablespoons PureLo Lo Han Sweetener by Swanson, or 1/2 cup raw honey, or your favorite sweetener.
Dry Ingredients:
• 1 cup almond meal or flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon unprocessed salt

Instructions

Set-up and Fillings:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin tins with coconut oil and flour with coconut flour. Coarsely chop the nuts. Cook the bacon.
2. Peel and coarsely chop the apples into a small mixing bowl. Sprinkle them with spices and lemon juice. Set aside.
Wet ingredients:
3. In a food processor or large mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients: eggs, vinegar, vanilla, coconut butter, and sweetener. Mix well
Dry Ingredients:
4. Mix dry ingredients into the above: almond meal, baking soda, salt. This begins the rising action, so work quickly to get these babies into the oven.
Assemble and Bake:
5. Pulse or mix in the nuts, apples, bacon, and bacon grease if desired. Mix VERY BRIEFLY, because we want chunky muffins!
6. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake mini-muffins 14 - 18 minutes, regular muffins 20 - 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes in the tins. Enjoy!