⅓ cup almond milk (or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
⅓ cup molasses
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tsp orange zest (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. If using paper muffin cups, spray those as well.
First measure out the milk in a measuring cup. Mix the apple cider and ground flax seed directly into the measuring cup and stir vigorously with a fork for about a minute. That helps to bring out the oils of the flax seeds while the vinegar thickens and curdles the milk. Both of those things will help the muffin to rise.
In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
Make a well in the center and add the milk mixture. Add in the oil, applesauce, molasses, sugar, vanilla and orange zest. Use a wooden spoon to mix ingredients together until everything is just moistened. Don’t overmix, it’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy.
Fill 6 muffin tins most of the way full. Bake for about 22 minutes, until tops are puffed up and firm and a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
When cool enough to handle, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Recipe by forkbelly.com at http://forkbelly.com/gingerbread-muffins/