Dairy-Free Breakfast Muffins

I wanted to make a wholesome breakfast muffin that wasn't fatty like a lot of the store bought ones are. I found a recipe on ilovemuffins.ca that used applesauce instead of oil, what a great idea!


Ingredients
1 cup quick oats
1 cup vanilla almond milk
1 cup whole wheat flour (or use half white flour and half ground flax!)
1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1/2 cup honey
For something really special (and optional) in these muffins fold in once all the ingredients to the batter are mixed:
1-3/4 cup of dairy free chocolate. (I used a 90% cacao bar chopped into chip-sized bits. If you can find vegan chocolate chips that would be ideal)
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2-3/4 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts

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Instructions
1. In a small bowl, add the oats and milk. Stir and then let soak, covered with plastic wrap for 45 minutes. If you aren't using quick oats you may want to soak them a bit longer, an hour would be plenty of time.

2. Pre-heat oven to 400° F.

3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the brown sugar and mix well.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy. Add the applesauce, honey and the oat/milk mixture that had been sitting. Stir well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate, raisins and nuts.

5. Spray 12 muffin cups with non-stick spray. (I missed this step when I made these muffins. I can't stress enough how vital it is though. These muffins have no oil in them to prevent them from sticking to the paper liners. DON'T FORGET TO SPRAY THE LINERS with the non-stick spray! Otherwise you'll have half your breakfast stuck to paper. Haha) Spoon batter into cups using an ice cream scoop.

6. Bake at 400° F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12-18 muffins.

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These muffins are absolutely perfect for breakfast. They freeze well so you can pop them in the freezer and take one out each day for breakfast. I had mine in the deep freeze and warmed it up in the microwave for 20s. If you find these a little bland of you, ice with Imperial cinnamon spread (which is dairy free!).

Happy Baking,
Bree