Recipe: Flourless Gingerbread Oat Muffins
Possibly one of the easiest (and most versatile) muffin recipes you’ll find! You measure all the ingredients into the base of a blender and blend into a smooth batter that bakes into dense yet fluffy, fabulously tasty, and healthy muffins. With oats as the foundation, this recipe is flourless, providing a whole-grain boost of fiber, B vitamins, and minerals such as copper, iron, selenium, magnesium, and zinc. Molasses is also a nutrient powerhouse. Blackstrap molasses (the darkest colored and strongest flavored) is a byproduct of the sugar-making process. Unlike processed sugars, it’s rich in antioxidants (as that deep color indicates) as well as iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin B6.
Whether you stick with our original recipe that uses pumpkin or swap in unsweetened applesauce you’re adding a little fruit for more whole-food nutrition. This recipe is easily halved if you don’t need 12 muffins, but also easy to share!
Flourless Gingerbread Oat Muffins
Serves 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 2 C rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or maple extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 C pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk, any type
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 C maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 C molasses
- Optional mix ins: chopped pecans, chocolate chips or diced apples
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease or line a 12-muffin tin.
- Starting with dry ingredients, measure and add to the base of a high-speed blender.
- Next, add the wet ingredients, pumpkin through molasses, into the blender and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
- Blend on low setting initially, then increase to higher speed as ingredients combine and begin to breakdown (about 30-45 seconds). Stop blending, remove the lid, and use a spatula to scrape down sides to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Return lid and continue blending until smooth batter is achieved (another 15-20 seconds).
- Remove lid and stir in any desired mix-ins.
- Pour/scoop batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each section 3/4 full.
- Bake muffins for 20-24 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving and to cool fully before storing in a sealed container. Muffins will remain fresh longest if stored in the fridge.
Swaps:
- For the pumpkin: unsweetened applesauce, or try this similar zucchini muffin variation
- For the pumpkin pie spice: apple pie spice
- For the coconut oil: any neutral oil (such as olive or avocado)
- For the molasses: 2 more tablespoons maple syrup