Vegan Vanilla Chai Protein Muffins

Place flax meal into a small bowl and add in 1/2 cup of the warm water, reserving the rest for later. Stir to combine and place into the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease a muffin tin with coconut oil. Additionally, spread coconut flakes onto a small baking pan and place into oven until golden brown, about 2–4 minutes. They toast quickly, so keep an eye on them!

In a large bowl, stir together oat flour, protein powder, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, allspice, clove and salt. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil with 4 tablespoons of the remaining water, and the baking powder until well combined and fizzy. Add the remaining coconut oil, water, coconut sugar, apple sauce, agave and vanilla. With an electric hand mixer, beat until well combined. Then, add in the chilled flax eggs and beat again.

Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until well combined. Your batter will be pretty thick, Spoon the dough into the muffin tin, filling the cavities only 3/4 full. Sprinkle on a few more coconut flakes.

Bake until muffins are lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 13–14 minutes. Let cool to room temperature in the pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Devour.

Note: I use a big ice cream scoop to make my muffins, as I find it gives them perfectly domed tops!