You may have already figured out that I have a bit of a love affair with muffins after my gushing over my "Best banana muffins in the history of all banana muffins". I will admit, though, that I'm a muffin snob- it has to be low fat, vegan, lower in sugar, contain a bit of protein, and taste great. This doesn't happen often, people! That being said, though, it happened for me this week with these blackberry orange muffins. These are amazing!





Blackberry Orange Muffins
Makes 9-10 muffins

1 cup flour (preferably whole wheat or spelt)
1 cup ground oats (grind in food processor or VitaMix until they look like course flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup fresh blackberries, halved
1 Tbsp orange zest
2 Tbsp hemp seeds (for protein and extra iron)
1/4 cup unrefined sugar (organic sugar)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 375〫F (190〫C) degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and ground oats. Sift in the baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, then stir in remaining dry ingredients and combine well.
3. In another bowl, combine applesauce, soy milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and oil.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix gently until just combined (do not overmix). Spoon into a lined or lightly oiled muffin pan and bake for 19-24 minutes (mine took 19), until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Recipe adapted and published with permission from Dreena Burton's "As-You-Like Muffins" from The Everyday Vegan.