At our house, we get very few days where both my husband and I are not working, getting to enjoy a true “weekend.” He’s a property manager of a state park which means his busy time is the opposite of my teacher schedule’s busy time. When we do get those special days that we are both home, breakfast can be a production. He’s in charge of the eggs (for all of the cooking I love to do, he still makes the best eggs…scrambled, omelette, you name it, he can do it). As for me, I love to put together some sort of baked good, warming the house with the oven and making the house smell just delightful.
This past weekend, I was inspired by all the muffins I saw on social media. What resulted was this clean, healthy apple and oatmeal muffin. Texture in the oatmeal and apple and just the right amount of cinnamon. My family approved and ate them all week. I loved them for a mid morning snack while I have been checking up on my students virtually. If you have a busy lifestyle, mix up a double batch and throw them in the freezer.
Note that I have been into using maple syrup for my sweetener because we have it on hand and it’s a fun way for me to challenge myself to make the swap for refined sugar. If you don’t have access to maple syrup there are a few options here:
- Use honey instead
- Use regular sugar (or maybe brown for a hint of molasses?) and leave out the flax to compensate for dry ingredient addition.
Okay, enough talk. Let’s get baking so you and your family can enjoy these muffins too!
Your ingredients (for approximately 18 regular sized muffins):
- 2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (If you don’t have this, you can leave it out, but I would replace with flour to keep the consistency right)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup oil of your choice (vegetable, olive, coconut)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 apple, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup chopped nuts (optional-if you dig additional texture)
Your Steps to Apple and Oatmeal Muffins
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and move a rack to the center of the oven. In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, mix milk, maple syrup, oil, egg. Mix into the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Fold in apples. Pour into greased or line muffin tins approximately ¾ of the way full. Bake for 16-22 minutes. Enjoy right out of the oven with just a hint of butter, because if you ask me, there isn’t much better than a baked good straight out of the oven with a very small tab of butter. Yum!
Getting mixed.. …and a little more Diced apples Ready for the pan Now for the oven.. …Ready for my belly!
Looking for more baking recipes? Check out my baking page here!
Apple and Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed If you don’t have this, you can leave it out, but I would replace with flour to keep the consistency right
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 apple peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup chopped nuts optional-if you dig additional texture
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and move a rack to the center of the oven.
- In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
- In a separate bowl, mix milk, maple syrup, oil, egg.
- Mix into the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Fold in apples and nuts.
- Pour into greased or line muffin tins approximately ¾ of the way full. Bake for 16-22 minutes.
