I am pretty proud of these babies. I have to admit that I am not the best at creating my own baked good recipes. Cooking I can do. From years of cooking with my mom I have a pretty good idea of what flavors go together, how to know if something is cooked, and if it is going to taste good. Of course, I’ve had failures in that department too, but not nearly as many as with baking. As you’ve probably heard, baking is a science, and when you are trying to make healthier baked goods this science becomes even more complicated. Gluten free recipes allow for a little wiggle room since they don’t have any gluten (obvious, I know). Many baking recipes specifically tell you not to overmix because the gluten in the flour can make the baked good really tough if you mix it too much. But with gluten free baking you don’t have this problem and can mix away to your heart’s desire (or just until everything is mixed well).
These muffins are very similar to a bran muffin (my favorite kind), with a slightly crispy outside and a dense whole-grain inside. They have a distinct brown sugar flavor that pairs great with the apples and cinnamon. These muffins have a double whammy of apples- unsweetened apples (homemade preferred because you can keep it on the chunkier side) and chopped fresh apples. Is your house overflowing with apples? Then this is a great way to use them up for a healthy breakfast on the go or an afternoon snack. Besides eating these plain, you could always top them with some peanut butter or honey, or crumble them on top of yogurt or oatmeal.
If you are using unsweetened applesauce that does not have cinnamon you will want to add about 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients.
I used my homemade unsweetened applesauce, which has less liquid than the applesauce you might find at the grocery store. If you are using store bought applesauce, you may have a slightly more moist muffin (nothin’ wrong with that if you ask me). You want your batter to be spoonable, not pourable, so if you think your batter is too thin you can add a tablespoons more of oat flour until it thickens enough to spoon into the muffin tin.
Brown Sugar Apple Oat Muffins
Makes 12.
Dry Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cups gluten free oat flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
(1/2 teaspoon cinnamon if applesauce does not have cinnamon)
Wet Ingredients
1 cup apples, peeled and chopped
¾ cup unsweetened cinnamon applesauce
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assembly
2 tablespoons gluten free rolled oats
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick oil spray.
- Add dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together.
- Add wet ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk together.
- Add wet ingredients into dry and mix until completely combined.
- Spoon ingredients into muffin tin, filling all the way to the top. Top with a sprinkle of oats.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove and let cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. These will freeze well.
Nutritional Information
Serving Size: 1 muffin Calories: 195 Fat: 5.9 g Carbohydrates: 14.6 g Fiber: 2.5 g Sugar: 2.8 g Protein: 4.3 g
Notes:
You can make your own oat flour by blending rolled oats in a high speed blender or food processor until they form a fine-ish powder.
Laura says
These look delicious – good GF muffins are hard to find!
koberwager says
Thanks, Laura! They taste delicious too! Hope you get a chance to try them soon.
Rachel @LittleChefBigAppetite says
These look amaaaaaaaaazing. Definitely going to try these!
koberwager says
Thanks, Rachel!
Michelle says
These are awesome! I was out of apple sauce so I subbed pumpkin puree and added some pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves) to the dry ingredients. This recipe is a keeper for sure. Thanks!
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
SO glad you tried it Michelle! Love that pumpkin puree and applesauce are so interchangeable. Great idea!
jody says
These turned out awesome! I’ve tried dozen’s of gf muffin recipes and this is the best so far! I’ve been wanting to use almond flour but not exclusively so this is a great balance. I am hoping I can start to experiment with different add ins.
Michelle says
Try banana, Jody. That us our current favorite. We make them every weekend. I think I may try strawberry tomorrow 🙂
Michelle says
*is* not us. Darn it )
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
Love those add-in ideas, Michelle!
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
That’s so great to hear, Jody! I’m glad you liked them.