Recipe: Apple Oatmeal Squares (or Muffins)

Apple Oatmeal Squares -- easily converted into muffins.

With the impending Frankenstorm headed our way, it's time to prepare.  That means baking!  I'm double-checking that my emergency kit's batteries, flashlights, water bottles and other supplies are in order, and also our food supplies, in case we lose electricity or just want to avoid cooking during 105 mph gale winds.  (Cans of beans and vegetables, more cans of Amy's lentil soup, crackers, nuts, and Oreo cookie packs -- check!)  My mom gave me another good storm tip reminder:  do all of your laundry in case the electricity goes down.  

I discovered an apple oatmeal muffin recipe that is a terrific snack on the go -- Frankenstorm or not -- thanks to A., who found this recipe somewhere online (possibly here, at vegancooking.com) and shared this with me.  I converted these into squares instead of muffins, and made some alterations:  I replaced the sugar with maple syrup, increased the cinnamon, used regular flour instead of pastry flour, used my homemade applesauce, replaced the canola oil with walnut oil, and used almond milk as my non-dairy milk.    

My guts enjoyed these healthy and tasty treats.  They made a great morning snack at work, heating up well in the microwave (just a few seconds to get the chill out).

Note:  I don't mind that these probably don't hold together as well as the original recipe (though they are not falling apart - just very moist).  The only problem is not eating too many of these in one sitting!

APPLE OATMEAL SQUARES (OR MUFFINS)

Ingredients

2 C. whole wheat flour

2 C. oats (not instant)

1/2 C. maple syrup

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 C. unsweetened applesauce

1/2 C. walnut oil (I used a little less than 1/2 cup but wound up adding a drizzle more later)

1 and 1/2 C. non-dairy milk (I used Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla almond milk)

3 apples, peeled and diced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9 x 13 pan (or muffin tins) and set aside.
2. In large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. In separate bowl, mix together the oil and maple syrup.  Add the almond milk and applesauce and stir well.
4. Fold the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.  
5. Stir in the diced apples.
6. Fill the pan (or muffin tins).
7. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  My squares took 45-50 minutes to bake; the original recipe suggests 20-25 minutes for muffins, but a pan generally takes longer and the addition of the maple syrup probably lengthened my cooking time.  Just keep checking after 30 minutes to avoid drying out the pan.
8. Remove from oven.  Cool for a few minutes before cutting into squares or removing from tins, and completely cool on rack.   We ate a few of these while they were cooling off, though...
9. I stored the squares in the refrigerator and reheated them as needed; especially good slightly heated!

Makes one 9x13 pan or 12 muffins.