Strawberry Muffin Top (Vegan)

Over this past summer, I was spending time with a friend and my girls, and the kids were playing with a Strawberry Shortcake toy.  My friend laughed, looking at the little toy figurine, who is a bit paunchy and proclaimed that Strawberry Shortcake should really be called Strawberry Muffin Top.
That dreaded over the jeans mush.  Well don't worry ladies.
This muffin will not do that to you.
It wouldn't dare after the morning I had with it.  I practically had an arm wrestle with these muffins when they came out of the oven.
Really, they came this close to winning.

The first batch I made, the strawberries had a mind of their own and decided to wreck havoc on this muffin.  It collapsed into a pile of defeated crumbs.

I though, was having none of it.

I studied my recipe again, made some adjustments, and now, it is a moist, vegan muffin filled with oats, spelt flour and applesauce.  And those strawberries... I finally pureed those with the back of a fork, and that took care of that baking debacle in the most delicious way!

Strawberry Muffin Top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl whisk together:

1 cup of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Oats

1 1/2 cups organic spelt flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 packed organic light brown sugar

In another medium bowl combine with a spoon:

1 cup rice milk

1/2 cup organic unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons best quality vanilla

Make a well with the dry ingredients and pour in wet mixture.  Stir until just combined.

Fold in:

1 cup of pureed fresh organic strawberries.  (I used a fork to mash them up)

Note:

You can use frozen strawberries, just let them thaw enough to mash.

I use a cookie scooper to scoop the batter evenly into muffin tins.  The batter should fill the tin to the almost to the top.

Sprinkle the muffins with the following Topping Mixture: 

2 tablespoons organic brown sugar

1 tsp olive oil

2 tablespoons gluten-free oats

mix with a fork to combine.

Bake the muffins at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes.  A toothpick should come out clean and they are done!

Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove muffins from tin to continue to cool on rack.

These are beyond good warm, but any extra muffins can be individually wrapped and stored in an air tight container in the freezer.  

Grab one for an on the run breakfast!