These muffins are a very tasty, healthy, dairy-free breakfast treat. Or snack anytime (grin). They’re tastiest when they’re still warm from the oven, but good for 2 or 3 days, or even longer if you store them in the fridge. This recipe is adapted from the Joy of Cooking.

The berry you see in the middle of the muffin is a mulberry (surrounded by chocolate chips. I picked several from a tree in our yard. Mulberries look similar to blackberries, with smaller corpuscles. Their flavor is a not as pronounced, but they’re just as juicy. You can use any berry in this recipe…

Mix Dry Ingredients Separately:

• 1 cup whole spelt flour
• 1 cup sifted spelt flour
• 1 tbs ground flax
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Mix Wet Ingredients Well:

• 1 large egg
• 3 tbs olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup rice milk (or other low-fat milk)
• 1/2 cup applesauce

Optional:

• 1/2 or 3/4 cup fresh berries
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (dairy-free)

Gently fold wet ingredients into dry with a spatula. When about 2/3 mixed, add berries and chips. Important: Do not over stir. Otherwise, the muffins will get hard and dense.

Spoon batter into greased 12 cup muffin tin. (I rub olive oil in the muffin cups with a paper towel). Bake at 400° for 12 minutes. Take out of oven, and let the muffins sit for 2-3 minutes. Then remove to cool on a baking rack.

While the muffins are warm in the muffin tin, you can sprinkle the tops with sugar, or mix sugar plus melted dairy-free butter (like Earth Balance) and brush it on top.

Makes 12 muffins.