Healthy Apple Oatmeal Muffins made with whole wheat flour, fresh SweeTango® apples and chai spices. Finished with a light vanilla bean glaze for a special treat!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tablespoons melted and cooled coconut oil (or olive oil or melted butter)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg, at room temperature
¼ cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 medium SweeTango Apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped (about 1 cup chopped apple)

For the glaze:
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons low fat cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 teaspoons unsweetened almond milk
1 vanilla bean, split in half and seeds removed

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or line with muffin liners. If you line with muffin liners, make sure to spray the inside of the liners with nonstick cooking spray as these are lowfat muffins and will stick if the liners are not greased.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, add applesauce, oil, maple syrup, egg, almond milk and vanilla; mix until well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the apple pieces.

Divide batter evenly, filling each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full. Sprinkle a few oats on top of each muffin to add a little beauty.

Bake for 23-28 minutes or until tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then remove muffins and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Once muffins are cooled, make the glaze by mixing together the powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, almond milk and vanilla bean. If necessary, add in a little bit more milk, you want it to be glaze-like consistency. Drizzle evenly over warm muffins!

Serves: 12 muffins total.

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Monique Volz is a healthy food blogger at Ambitious Kitchen, a site devoted to clean eating meals, better for you treats, and living an ambitious life. Monique started her blog in 2011 while working in PR, marketing and social media for both small and large-scale food brands. By 2014 Monique was ready to leave her full time job to pursue Ambitious Kitchen full time; she has never looked back and fully supports the #GirlBoss movement. In her free time, Monique travels the world, enjoys being active in any way possible, explores her love for interior design, and is always listening to Mariah Carey on repeat.