How 'Bout Them Apples?

My little blog has experienced quite the drama lately and frankly, I'm a little tired of it. Why can't I just be? Why can't I just make what I want to make, say what I want to say and not have to worry about people being dishonest or people sending me hate mail? I try not to let those things get me down but I'm "tender hearted" and these things do bother me.

I got an email from a lady who thought it was her duty to call me names and tell me that I overreacted and that the woman who was running this bunk blog was not stealing from me or anyone else. That she was merely sharing what she thought were good recipes with her friends and family. Here's the deal, and I know I don't have to explain this to you, but that's not what she was doing. If I came across that blog and I saw that she gave proper credit to those who did all the leg work, then I might not have been so bothered. But she knew what she was doing. And she knew it was wrong. That's why she changed the name of the recipes and why she didn't allow comments and why there was no contact info for her.

I couldn't understand how she was benefiting from this though. It's not like anyone can encourage her and tell her how great she was doing. Someone tried to convince me that maybe these were just a collection of recipes that she liked and wanted to try. Maybe that could be right, but why copyright them? Aren't all of our blogs just a collection of recipes? Why do something illegal and claim that it's yours just to have a collections of recipes on a blog? I'll tell you why. She thought she could get away with it, that's why. The blog has been taken down but I'm not sure if it was because of her doing or if Google removed it. I just worry that it will reappear somewhere else at another time. I'm taking safeguards against protecting myself and this blog but that is a work in progress.

I thank each and every one of you who supported me and didn't think I overreacted. I do this because I love it. I love to cook and bake and take photos of my work, and mostly I want to share with you. I appreciate that you respect my hard work and don't take advantage of what I'm offering. Not all of these recipes are my own creation, in fact, very few of them are. I encourage you to read them, and make them. I hope that you like them. But please don't take my photos and claim them as your own.

Now on to these muffins. I saw them on Christy's blog- The Girl Who Ate Everything. She got them from a reader who shared this recipe with her. I made them almost immediately after seeing them because I knew they were something Mr. H would love. He really enjoys cinnamon and apples in baked goods but I don't bake with them enough. I cut some of the fat from the original recipe by substituting cinnamon apple sauce for the oil and reducing the sugar a bit. They are moist and tender and very flavorful. They have a nice crunchy topping on them which is nothing more than a sprinkling of brown sugar- don't skip this step! I made the full batch of muffins, ate what we wanted and froze the rest. They reheat nicely.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

adapted by Marissa Pinon via The Girl Who Ate Everything

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 cups peeled, cored, diced apples (around 3 small apples)
• 1/4 cup. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl cream together the sugar and eggs. Add the oil, applesauce and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. The batter will be very thick. Add the diced apples.

Butter & flour muffin tins or use paper liners. Fill muffin tins to the top. Sprinkle with brown sugar, about 1/2 tsp. brown sugar per muffin. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Makes 22-24 muffins.