Cranberry Oat Muffins

Staple recipes are something that are hard to come by in my family. Between my moms cooking and my baking, we are always trying new recipes. These oat muffins are an exception: they are a staple. Mom makes a big batch then throws them in the freezer, and we have them to pull out for breakfast on the run. I guess I'd have to say these come from My Mother's Kitchen, not mine, but I still love them enough to share. (plus they're so pretty looking)

The originally recipe called for a cup or so of oil, but one time mom accidentally forgot put the oil in. One of those freak things that usually ruins the whole batch, but in this case made them even better! Ever since then these have been oil free.

These muffins are a perfect balance of sweet and tart. The agave and oats make them sweet, then when you bite in to one of the fresh cranberries and get a little pop of tart. Like I said before, they make a large batch, 32 muffins, which makes them great for freezing and pulling out for later. 

Makes 32 muffins

115 calories per muffin 

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp baking soda
1 1⁄2 cups agave syrup
1 1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract 
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
4 cups rolled oats
1 cups spelt flour
2 cups fresh/frozen cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line two and a half 12-cup muffin tins with muffin liners. 
2. Combine eggs, baking powder, and soda in large bowl. Add agave syrup, vanilla, ginger and salt.
3. Blend oats into wet ingredients using spoon or whisk. Stir in flour then add cranberries.
4. Fill muffin cups 3⁄4 full with batter. Bake 15-20 Min.
5. Allow muffins to cool in pans then turn out.

Chocolate Valentine's Cupcakes

Better to post late than never, right? I made these cupcakes as part of my gift to my boyfriend for Valentine's Day. The boy is a picky one when it comes to food, especially desserts. The basic rule of thumb is chocolate. No caramel, no mint, no fruit, no coconut- just chocolate (and sometimes peanut butter). I wanted to make him something that he would like, but something that I would eat too. The line between these two things is a thin one, but I was up for the challenge.

The original recipe calls them muffins and omits the frosting. In order to please my boy, I added frosting. So the muffins became cupcakes and soon the cupcakes bore little hearts on top to theme the day.

Overall, these were so easy to make and turned out great! They were rich and chocolatey with a touch of peanut butter taste. The cupcakes are gluten free, dairy free, and their only sugar is honey. The added frosting is a normal frosting recipe (I had to leave something normal for him), so it contains sugar, butter, and milk. I simply left some unfrosted for myself to eat. Best part of the story? He liked them! No complaints and no suspicions. It's the little victories in life that matter.

Makes 8 cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
1/2 cup peanut butter (almond butter, or any other nut butter would work too)
1 ripe medium banana
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup Enjoy Life dairy free chocolate chips


Frosting:
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp Milk 
Splash of vanilla 
(<1/4 tsp)Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F and prepare a muffin pan by putting 8 muffin tins in pan. Set aside
2. Add all ingredients except for chocolate chips to a blender and blend on high until batter is smooth and creamy. I used a Magic Bullet since I don't own a blender at school. This worked great as well, just be sure to put the liquid near the blade. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
3. Pour batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each cavity until it is about 3/4 full.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the tops of cupcakes are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for ~10 minutes before removing.
5. While cupcakes bake and cool make the frosting by adding all ingredients to a small bowl and mixing thoroughly with an electric hand mixer.

 If adding frosting and heart:
1. Allow cupcakes to cool completely. Using 1-inch heart shaped cookie cutter, punch out a heart from the center of two of your cupcakes. The heart will be extremely thick.
2. Cut the heart in half so you are left with two thinner hearts.
3. Frost the remaining cupcakes using a knife and place heart on top.