Breakfast is pretty routine for me. I’m a creative of habit but I go in phases and eventually switch up my usual – from a big bowl of oatmeal, protein smoothies, egg scrambles and quick breads. Currently, I’m on a muffin kick…I need protein in the morning so I have a hard boiled or scrambled egg on the side but there is something comforting about a hearty muffin that starts the day off with a smile.

This on-the-go breakfast is reminiscent of hearty oatmeal in bread form with juicy bites of fresh chopped cherries and crunchy walnuts. Very lightly sweetened, these gluten free muffins have plenty of fiber from oats and flax plus a dose of good fats from coconut oil and nuts. This recipe is pretty versatile, see Recipe Notes below for substitutions.

I like muffins served slightly warmed or lightly toasted, and these are delicious served plain or topped with a smear of whipped butter, melted coconut butter or cream cheese, depending on my mood 🙂

Cherry Walnut Oat Muffins

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup gluten free oat flour (I grind my own using gluten free rolled oats)
2 Tbsp coconut flour*
1 Tbsp flaxseed meal*
1 to 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (depending on how much you prefer, I go with the later)
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup coconut/ palm sugar (or other granulated sweetener, increase to 1/3 cup if you want a sweeter muffin)
2/3 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened milk (I used vanilla almond milk)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp coconut oil in liquid form (or melted butter or oil of choice)
1 tsp lemon juice
2 eggs
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans or almonds)
2/3 cup chopped fresh cherries (could use dried or even other fresh fruit)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (oat flour through coconut sugar) and combine well, no clumps since oat flour tends to clump together. You can always sift dry ingredients together.
3. In a separate large mixing bowl, add wet ingredients (milk through eggs) and whisk to combine.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir just until moistened, then fold in nuts and cherries. Divide evenly between muffin cups.
5.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean (mine took 16 minutes).

Recipe Notes: This muffin recipe is versatile and you can sub in your favorite fruit or nuts to your liking. Apples, raisins, blueberries, blackberries, dried cranberries etc would all be good. Almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds or peanuts would be delish – you could even use a combo of fruit and nuts to make a trail mix muffin!

*If you don’t have coconut flour or flax on hand, eliminate and increase the oat flour to 2 cups.