Apple Cinnamon Oat Muffins
Although I am continuously working on it, mornings are just not my thing. It takes me a while to function no matter what time I wake up but the earlier it is the more likely I am to need a couple mega coffees to get started. The temptation to use the wonderful caffeinated goodness as a substitute to breakfast is all too real and one that I absolutely relied on during college and when I was working in the corporate world. However, when I couldn't concentrate and started to get jittery mid-morning I developed a few tricks to streamline my mornings to get some breakfast down and kickstart my metabolism. My solution included the wonderful instagram worthy trends of overnight oats and green smoothies, definitely wayyyyy better than one would actually think, but I couldn't help but feel envy when I looked at others grabbing a muffin to go with their Starbucks. Cue a deep dive into the world of healthy muffins and my goal to transform some of my favourite, yet high sugar and generally terrible for you, muffins!
I'll be bringing you many of my other healthy breakfast muffins in future posts but as they say, let's start from the very beginning! These apple cinnamon oat muffins were my first recipe transformation successes and inspired by an overnight oat recipe I saw on one pinterest or instagram image way back when! The base ingredients are things you will already have around like oats, eggs, apple sauce, cinnamon, yoghurt and the 'specialty' items like gluten free whole wheat flour and coconut sugar are my preferences to make them gluten free and without refined sugar. If you don't need them to be gluten free then regular flour would be fine and if you aren't bothered about refined sugar then your standard brown sugar will do the job too. As for the vegans out there, I use flaxseed eggs and coconut yoghurt and it is A+ just make sure you really wait for the flaxseed to thicken in the water - I am so guilty of trying to rush this process sometimes!
Of course my focus in creating these were to give me a treat option for my morning breakfasts and stave off the muffin envy of others but they are also the healthiest kind of muffin so I don't feel guilty having them three days on the trot or making mini muffins for snacks or even a late night sweet tooth craving! The benefits of having a low sugar option means no crazy blood sugar crash, the vegan and gluten free element means I can make them for everyone and not worry about allergies, using no oil or butter means it's 'January friendly' and 'people that count calories' friendly plus by using greek yoghurt it immediately ups the protein count and gives this traditionally all carb breakfast a more rounded nutritional balance.
To add to the health points and treat points these are also super convenient. They can be made in regular muffin size or mini muffin size (my favourite!), stored up to 5 days at room temperature or you can make a whole bunch and freeze them for up to 3 months. Microwaved for 1 minute to thaw in the morning or take out of the freezer the night before and you have a freshly made muffin ready to eat! You can't get much easier than that!
I'll admit there was a learning curve in getting these muffins the right texture and consistency without using any traditional butter or oil or sugar but the outcome is well worth it on all fronts. Let us know how you like them and tag us in any instagram photos @createdsweetly! Think your company or event might want a healthy muffin spread? Get in contact with us for a quote and availability createdsweetly.com/contact
Until next time, keep it sweet!
Apple Cinnamon Oat Muffins
Easy, Healthy, Gluten Free, Vegan, No Oil, No Refined Sugar, High Protein & Tasty!!
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 180C (about 350F) and prep muffin tin either with paper liners or oil of your choice - I use coconut oil myself.
- In a medium or large bowl prepare the flaxseed egg and set aside or non-vegans lightly beat one large egg.
- While the flaxseed is doing it’s magic, in a separate large bowl combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Once the flaxseed egg has thickened add the yogurt, applesauce, coconut sugar, vanilla, and grated apple and stir until well-combined.
- Add all these wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing gently until just combined.
- Fill the muffin cups with the batter almost to the top as these won’t rise a huge amount and add a sprinkle of oats on top for aesthetic.
- Bake the muffins for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool slightly (about 10 minutes) before trying to take them out - too early and they will fall apart! Let them completely cool on a wire rack and then store them in an air-tight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Variations
- Don't need it gluten free? Use regular wholewheat or plain flour!
- If sugar is fine? Any sugar will do the same as the coconut sugar but stick to brown sugar for the richness in taste. White sugar will work fine just with a more empty cupcake like sweetness rather than wholesome muffins sweetness... does that make sense?
- Vegan - Use a flaxseed egg (1 tbsp flaxseed & 3 tbsp water) and make sure to really wait for the flaxseed mixture to thicken! And use a vegan yoghurt - coconut yoghurt works great!