Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 C old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 C unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 C butter or coconut oil (melted)
• 1/3 C sugar or honey
• 3/4 C whole-wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 C dried cranberries or raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease the muffin cups. Set aside..
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the oatmeal, applesauce, milk, egg, vanilla, butter and sugar. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt (and cranberries or raisins if using). Make a well in the center and pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir until just combined (don’t overmix or the muffins will be dense and dry). The muffin batter texture might be a bit different (wetter?) than other muffin batters but no fear, carry on!
4. Distribute the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake or the muffins will be dry.
5. Remove the muffins to a rack to cool completely. Once cool, I place 6-9 muffins in a large freezer ziploc bag, suck all the air out and seal the bag, then freeze, pulling them out one by one to stick in my kids lunches or warm slightly for a snack.