If you’re looking for a healthier option for your kids to bring to school this Valentine’s Day, these breakfast oatmeal cupcakes are the perfect classroom snack. Katie Higgins, of the popular healthy dessert blog Chocolate Covered Katie, shares her recipe for these delicious vegan breakfast cupcakes in Episode 5 of What the Fudge.
Watch Katie make this recipe in Episode 5 of What the Fudge:
“I have hundreds of recipes on my blog, and yet, out of all of those, the oatmeal chocolate chip cupcakes to go are the recipe that my mom loves the most,” says Katie.
 |
DON'T MISS AN EPISODE!
|
This recipe is bound to be a hit with kids, too: They get to eat cupcakes for breakfast — and only you will know how healthy these cupcakes really are. “They’re going to taste healthy, but in a good way,” she says.
Start with the right type of bananas
“When making vegan recipes, there are challenges that you face. You can’t use eggs to make things rise or to bind things. You can’t use butter. You can’t use a lot of the ingredients that are called for in traditional desserts, but I look at that as a challenge — and I love challenges,” says Katie.
In this recipe, overripe bananas keep the cupcakes moist and bind the ingredients together. “We’re going to start by peeling some very overripe bananas. You want them at least halfway brown. Otherwise, you’re going to get that earthy banana taste,” she says. “They might not look like the best thing, but these are so much better than the yellow bananas.”
Katie mashes the bananas with a fork until no large chunks remain and mixes the mash with a cup of water.
Sweeten things up
“If you put enough butter and sugar into a recipe, it’s probably going to taste good, but is that really creative? I like the creative process, and when you’re doing vegan recipes, you really have to get creative,” Katies says.
The bananas add sweetness to the recipe. Katie sweetens them up a bit more with a couple of tablespoons pure maple syrup, rather than white sugar. “Just 2-1/2 tablespoons for the entire recipe. If you want it to be added-sugar-free, you could use stevia instead,” she says.
She also adds vanilla extract and coconut oil in the wet mixture. “If you want it to be oil-free, you can actually just use more banana instead of the coconut oil,” she says.
Mix in the dry ingredients
In another bowl, Katie combines 2-1/2 cups rolled oats and a pinch of salt to bring out the flavor. Now, it’s chocolate time! “I’m going to add 1/3 cup of chocolate chips here. You can add a little more. You can add whatever you want,” says Katie.
She mixes the dry ingredients. Then, she adds the wet ingredients and mixes thoroughly.
Yummy add-ins
“I think what people really love about this recipe is that it’s customizable. You can make different flavors,” Katie says. She recommends adding shredded coconut, cranberries, raisins, dried fruit, blueberries — or, of course, more chocolate chips. “Just throw in what looks good. You don’t have to measure,” she says.
After transferring the batter into a muffin tin with cupcake liners, she bakes them up. “About two scoops per cupcake,” she advises. “You’re going to press it down a little bit. You don’t need to too much. These aren’t going to be traditional cupcakes.”
Healthy breakfast to go!
“The breakfast oatmeal cupcakes to go are also really great for meal prep. You make one batch. You can put them in the freezer, you can put them in the refrigerator, and you have a healthy breakfast for at least a few weeks,” she says.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with adding different flavors to this recipe, says Katie. For example, try pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon for a pumpkin version.
“I posted the recipe years and years ago, but I personally still make them. I really love them!”
>> Click here for Katie’s breakfast oatmeal cupcakes recipe
|
DON'T MISS AN EPISODE!
|