Gingerbread Oat Muffins

I never used to enjoy baking things (even baked oatmeal took me awhile to get the hang of), but I am on a muffin spree lately. Once I learned my ways with baking soda and wet to dry ratios, making oatmeal muffins became a blast.

These were originally intended to be banana-gingerbread muffins. However, after preparing the batter, I realized the banana flavor was completely hidden. To be honest, I wasn't at all upset about that! I actually preferred a straight-up gingerbread flavor, but I knew (or thought) using bananas as a sweetener would change the flavor, so I decided to be realistic and honest and include banana in the name.

As it turns out, I didn't have to! You shouldn't taste the bananas at all if you follow this recipe exactly. I didn't use the optional maple syrup and found the muffins perfectly sweet and flavorful!

Oh, and one last thing: I made the mistake once of using Blackstrap molasses. Unless you are a hardcore Blackstrap fan who could eat it by the spoonful, do NOT do this! Your muffin will be intense and almost bitter. Just trust me; the nutritional benefits are not worth it. :)

Gingerbread Oat Muffins

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 15 min

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Ingredients (~10 mini muffins)

• 1 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup instant oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• scant 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup nondairy milk
• 1 mashed banana
• 1/4 cup molasses (mild, NOT blackstrap!)
• 1/8-1/4 cup maple syrup (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray muffin tins with nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine first ten ingredients (all the dry ingredients).
3. In another bowl, mix together milk, banana, molasses, (and optional maple syrup). Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients and mix well.
4. Fill the muffin tins so they are about 5/6 full. (Note: because the muffins are made with oats, they will not rise as much as conventional muffins.) Top with more instant oats, if preferred.
5. Bake in oven for 13-15 minutes. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before removing from pan.

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!