Oatmeal Muffins (with Raspberries and White Chocolate)
I’m home! Although it may seem to the rest of the world as if I’ve never left, but between traveling and conferences and colds and flu in between, I feel like I’ve hardly been in my kitchen (except to make soup). I have a real and proper dinner simmering away on the stove right this minute, and if it turns out and I manage to take pictures before devouring it, I’ll share it with you. Meanwhile I promised a friend some muffins.
A good muffin is a wonderful thing. Once you have a good formula you can do anything with it – make it savoury with cheese and garlic and herbs, or add fruit or nuts or berries or chocolate. I do like my muffins to have a little tooth – without grains they’re a little too cupcake-like. These muffins in particular are made with oatmeal, which is soaked for a bit in buttermilk or thin yogurt (or even thinned sour cream) to soften before you start.
A few tricks for the muffin impaired: make sure your baking powder isn’t a hundred years old. If it’s in a tin with the sort of lid you have to pry off with the tip of a knife, it probably is. Once the liquid and dry ingredients are combined, be really gentle with your stirring; use a spatula if you have one, and mix just until the two are combined. Overmixing will make your muffins tough.
Like pancakes, I also see muffins as warm, cakey little opportunities to use up things that might otherwise get tossed. The half & half I left outside that froze and now comes out ever so slightly lumpy into our coffee. The cups of banana flavoured yogurt that came in the box of flavoured yogurts W begged for that he doesn’t like. The wrinkly apples and half eaten bananas and glut of Saskatoon berries still hanging out in our freezer. And yes, the soggy cereal that was left on the kitchen table. Muffins give them the chance for a new life.
The recipe is adapted from one Beth McCasland of Flagstaff, Arizona; it came from her mother’s home economics class in Louisiana in the 1940’s. By way of an old copy of Gourmet, of course. It’s a great example of how technology by and large hasn’t affected cooking from scratch that much.
Oatmeal Muffins
AuthorJulie
In a large bowl, stir together the oats and buttermilk and let sit about an hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F and line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.
Add the egg, brown sugar and oil or butter to the oat mixture and stir well. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir until almost combined; add any additions you like and stir just until blended.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and springy to the touch. Serve warm.
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl, stir together the oats and buttermilk and let sit about an hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F and line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.
Add the egg, brown sugar and oil or butter to the oat mixture and stir well. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir until almost combined; add any additions you like and stir just until blended.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and springy to the touch. Serve warm.
These muffins look really delicious – love those raspberries – bet they go so well with the oats in the muffins!
These are in my oven right now!! They will be perfect for the kids lunches. Thanks Julie!
I think that “warm, cakey little opportunities to use up things that might otherwise get tossed” is one of my favorite lines in food writing, ever. I do like varying my muffins but had never considered them as a potential destination for the soggy cereal…hmmm. Is that white chocolate in with your raspberries in the photo up above? I am at LEAST going to try that. 🙂
Yes! Raspberries and white chocolate. Added too much, methinks…
They’re the “where-have-you-been-all-my-life” kind of oatmeal muffin recipe. Nothing beats the raspberry and oatmeal combo!
What o you mean my ‘thinning’ out the yogurt with milk. How do you go about that and is it the measurement of just yogurt and then you thin it out or the measurement is thinned out yogurt? These look lovely and I really want to try them 🙂
I love a good base recipe to play around with. I’ve been craving muffins with cranberries and orange zest so maybe i’ll try these with those add-ins
Now that you mention it, my baking powder came with this top that you turn to the big opening or the smaller one. Sigh. I better fill that in a better container. Lovely muffins.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! The last oatmeal muffin recipe wasn’t the greatest, so I’m looking forward to this one, especially for the white chocolate!
Inspired me, dried mango and apricot, and made mine gluten free…. yum! just tried them.
made with banana – great. have you tried with whole wheat flour – would it be too dense?
made these yesterday right after reading the post.. Used up fruit greek yogourt and then added frozen ‘from my garden raspberries’, white choc chunks and they were a huge hit, yum. A keeper repeat recipe for sure.
I’ve been making a very similar recipe for the last couple of years…I use 1/4 cup melted butter and 3/4 brown sugar then I add chopped apple, a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and then top with chopped walnuts…Ate one every day and still managed to lose 50 lbs!!
I just love you Julie! I always refer to you as “my girl Julie” when I talk about your recipes to friends and family. Not only do I like your recipes but that you put stuff into the recipes “that needs to be used up” such as half eaten bananas, wrinkly apples, shriveled mushrooms and limp spinach – sounds just like my house and makes it seem OK – which of course it is! I am always eager to read all you’ve written.
My baking powder came brand new this year in a tin. I prefer it to plastic which is never truly recycled like metal is. Also, these muffins sound delicious.
Danielle – good to know! I had no idea they still made those tins.. I prefer them too!
These look so delicious! I have to try them 🙂 For the plain yogurt, what percent should I use?
I just gave these a try and they came out fantastic!! Thank you!
Delicious!!! Made with my 4 year old son this morning!! They were devoured by the whole family!! Thank you 🙂