It’s that time of the year – holiday baking season! By this point, you may have your Christmas tree and Christmas lights up, eagerly anticipating the holidays. In my house, I like to add to the Christmas sensory experience with some holiday baking and my Maple Gingerbread Oatmeal cups contain some of my favourite holiday flavours like maple and gingerbread. They literally fill my house with the smell of Christmas!
I am always looking for healthy, holiday-inspired recipes that my entire family will love and these healthy oatmeal cups are a quick and tasty Christmas breakfast or snack idea. You most likely already have the ingredients needed for this simple recipe in your pantry: – Milk of your choice (almond, coconut, soy, cashew or dairy milk)
– Maple syrup
– Coconut oil
– Eggs
– Rolled oats
– Ginger
– Cinnamon
– Nutmeg
The neat thing about these oatmeal cups is that they are gluten-free and refined sugar-free, but definitely not taste-free! Since the beginning of this pandemic, I have been trying to reduce my sugar intake and eat ‘cleaner’. This recipe contains no processed sugar other than maple syrup – it doesn’t get more Canadian than that, eh? What sets maple syrup apart from traditional refined sugar is the high mineral and antioxidant content. Don’t believe me? This Canadian Living article puts maple syrup to the test! Although maple syrup is still high in sugar, it at least offers a few benefits to traditional, granulated or refined sugars.
My Maple Gingerbread Oatmeal Cups are a school snack favourite for my daughters and are kid-approved! They also keep very well in the freezer and can easily be defrosted in the microwave for a fast, fibre-rich, energy boosting snack. Pair them with your favourite yogurt and fruit for a festive breakfast and you are good to go!
This versatile recipe also allows for ingredient substitutions, should you not have any of the required ones handy:
Milk: You can use whatever you have in your fridge – soy, almond, cashew, coconut milk all work and even regular dairy milk too. I opted for soy in my recipe.
Spices: the ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon are all key flavours in this recipe, creating the gingerbread experience in these oatmeal cups. However, if you are out of nutmeg, just increased the ginger by about half a teaspoon for similar results.
Toppings: My daughters like to add chocolate chips for some added sweetness. I have also topped these oatmeal cups with dried banana chips, chopped nuts and dried fruit. The options are endless!
Maple Gingerbread Oatmeal Cups Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups milk of your choice (almond, coconut, cashew, soy and regular dairy milk work)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (liquid form, cooled)
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- Grab two large mixing bowls. In the first large bowl, add your wet ingredients: milk, maple syrup, coconut oil and eggs. Mix well with a whisk
- In your second large mixing bowl, mix together your dry ingredients: rolled oats, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg
- Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients gradually and mix together well
- Line 12 muffin tins with muffin cup liners and divide the oatmeal mixture among them, making sure to get an even ratio of oats and liquid in each cup. You may need to use a small soon to help with portioning
- Bake in the oven for approx. 20 minutes or until set and golden brown
- Remove the oatmeal cups from your muffin tin and let cool
- Store leftover oatmeal cups in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze them in an air-tight container for an easy snack/breakfast!
Please note: This is an adapted recipe from the amazing Girl on Bloor. She has several varieties of oatmeal cups on her blog. You can check them out here.
