These dense, delicious gluten free muffins are not only inexpensive, but no weird ingredients!

Even if you don’t suffer from Celiac disease, gluten is an inflammatory substance and causes your body a little stress every time you eat it. Remember, every body is different and reacts uniquely. It may not send you to the hospital, but wheat is causing small amounts of inflammation in your system. Sugar, dairy, and alcohol are other examples of inflammatory foods.

What I love about this recipe is that it’s flexible, affordable and I can make it with ingredients I have on-hand all the time. These muffins can be frozen once they’ve cooled completely. I don’t know how long they take to defrost because my husband eats them half frozen! They can be stored in an air tight container without refrigeration for several days.

Choices, choices…

I bought the non-stick square pan specifically for this recipe, but I love it for brownies too. You can use a standard, round cupcake pan if that’s what you have available. When setting up a brunch or snack spread, the option of having two different shapes made the table visual more dynamic. The choice also allows for differentiating the flavor of treat if you have many varieties. My apple cinnamon oat muffins were square and the tropical banana was round, otherwise it’s hard to tell which is which. Maybe all of your square treats are gluten free!

You have options with these like which type of apple, add sliced almonds or nuts, or maybe a 1/2 teaspoon of ginger for some zing. Cinnamon can be left out, but that’s just silly unless you have an allergy. For my family, I use 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 cup sliced almonds in addition to what’s listed on the recipe. Raisins could be delicious! I buy my oatmeal in bulk. When I have a recipe that calls for oat flour or quick cook oats, it’s all the same to me. I pull out the handy dandy food processor and stop when the texture is right.

apple cinnamon oatmeal squares

• 3 cups quick oats
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup milk of choice
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup honey

• 1 1/3 cup apple, peeled & diced small (this is about 2 small/medium apples)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, small separate bowl

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray non-stick pan with gluten free spray, I use a coconut oil one. Mix dry ingredients with a mixer on low for 30 seconds. If you are using a bowl and spoon, just mix until any small clumps are broken. Add wet ingredients. I prefer to scramble my egg separately before adding because I am a little nutty. Mix this on low or stir by hand until everything is wet. In a separate bowl, coat the diced apples with extra cinnamon to coat. Stir cinnamon-covered apples into batter by hand. Each muffin is about 1/4 cup to make a dozen. Fill pan with batter, place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove the pan when the edges turn brown. Cool muffins in pan on a wire rack for 3-5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Once they are cooled completely, store in an airtight container.

I would love to hear how you’re going to take this recipe and make it your own! What recipes would you like to see next?