Apples, part 4

Today's project was inspired by The Creative Crate: apples from toilet paper rolls! I figured this could be not only an art project, but their math lesson, as well! After all, they had to measure every half-inch, and put a mark! Go HERE for the full tutorial, and see just how cute this project is as a pumpkin garland!

Cute little apple, don't you think?

The second activity was my favorite: apple streusel muffins. I used Martha Stewart's apple muffin recipe, and added my own streusel on top. As you can see, I think I used too much butter on the streusel part. (My girls weren't complaining, though!) You can download the cute apple wrappers FREE from Alphamom.

Here is Martha's recipe:

Ingredients

Makes 12

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and quartered
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (omit if serving to children under 3)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12-cup standard muffin tin with cooking spray; set aside. Cut 3 apple quarters into 1/4-inch dice; cut remaining apple quarter into 12 thin slices for garnish.
2. Whisk together sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add diced apple and walnuts, if using; toss to coat.Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and butter in a small bowl. Gently fold buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full.Top each with an apple slice. Bake until muffins are brown around edges and spring back when touched, 16 to 18 minutes. Let muffins cool slightly, about 5 minutes, before turning out of tin onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

And, here they are together: the toilet paper apple and the muffins! We put them in another leftover drink holder to share with friends.