Lemon Berry Oatmeal Bites

 

Lemon Berry Oatmeal Bites

 

I haven’t made oatmeal bites in a while as we have been using our mini donut pan more since we got it. After the family inhaled some donuts I recently made. I decided to whip these up adding sweet berry jam, made half with raspberry and half with strawberry, in the middle. These aren’t overly sweet as they are sweet enough with the jam in the center but if you would like them sweeter you can add 1/4 cup of coconut palm into the batter or add icing on top, recipe can be found here in the Lemon Mini Donut recipe, and dip the tops in icing. Since my family inhaled them without added sugar I decided to keep the recipe without. Weather the berry is showing or hidden in the middle the sweetness of sweet berries and tart lemon these oatmeal bites will brighten your day even if you’re enjoying them before the sun comes up!

 

Lemon Berry Oatmeal Bites

Makes 32-36 mini muffins

2 1/2c oats, gluten-free

¼  tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

1 large organic lemon

water (up to 1/4 c)

2 TBSP organic ground flaxseed

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c unsweetened apple sauce

1 ½  c non dairy milk of choice (used So Delicious Vanilla Almond Milk Plus)

1/2 c  raspberry, strawberry, or berry jam or preserves of choice (used Crofter’s Organic Raspberry Preserves and Strawberry Premium Spreads)

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To make these in a food processor zest the whole lemon into the food processor. Juice lemon into a measuring cup and add water to total 1/3 cup, pour into a medium bowl, add an additional 1 tablespoon of water, and mix with flaxseed. Set aside. Add oats, salt, and baking powder to the lemon zest in the food processor. Pulse until oats are ground into a semi-fine to fine texture depending on how much texture you want in your oatmeal bites. I tend to go with a semi-fine rather than a fine flour texture. Stir milk, applesauce, and vanilla into the flaxseed mixture. Add the wet ingredients into the food processor and pulse until incorporated. Place jam/preserves into a small plastic ziploc bag (or pastry bag). Spray mini muffin tins with non stick spray. If you want the jam to show fill the muffin tins to the top, if you don’t want to see the jam fill 3/4 of the way full. Snip the corner of the plastic bag and squeeze 1/2-3/4 teaspoon into the middle each muffin. If you wanted the jam in the middle fill the remaining tins with the muffin batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes and remove from tin and let cool on a wire rack. If you leave them in the muffin tin the bottoms can retain moisture which could make them mushy and the texture won’t be as good. You can even flip them on a wire rack and the jam will stay. Enjoy!

 

If you don’t have a food processor you can still make these muffins using oat flour. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and follow directions stir all the dry ingredients together and adding in the wet.

Lemon Berry Oatmeal Bites