Airplanes and Apple Pecan Muffins

I’m in the airport security line. Passengers are taking off their shoes and jackets, putting their laptops and liquids into bins for the x-ray machine. TSA employees are calling out reminders to remove belts and money from pockets. It was a morning flight, so in the bin along with my purse and toiletries, was my breakfast.

“Oh, I’m sorry, those muffins can’t go through,” says the TSA guy.

I take a beat, trying to figure out what he’s talking about. Then I smile, “Oh, because they look too good, right?”

Flying in the morning, you’re guaranteed a crazy line at the airport Starbucks and the bagel place, so I’d packed a couple of apple pecan muffins. I still can’t figure out why at least one airline hasn’t been able to strike a co-marketing deal where a food manufacturer provides meals for free, not just sodas or coffee. In the meantime, I’ll keep packing plane food.

The muffins were adapted from a recipe in the Joy of Cooking. I don’t use it nearly as much as you would think, but our copy naturally falls open to the quick breads section because one of the main recipes I turn to is the banana bread. It’s my go-to because it’s made with butter and makes just one loaf. But in a book like the Joy of Cooking there are a hundred more recipes that just never get touched (partly I think, because there aren’t any pictures!). Just a few pages before that banana bread are these cinnamony muffins perfect for using up those last couple of apples hiding in the back of the fridge.