My new favorite Muffin

There she comes, with another muffin recipe… I know, I have posted quite a few muffin recipes, but I had to share this recipe here. And it is another recipe that comes from Nic’s blog, theBaking Sheet, called Whole Wheat, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins. Healthy and yummy whole-wheat muffins made with one of my favorite ingredients of all: oatmeal! The muffins were surprisingly moist inside; the batter needs to sit for a while, so the oatmeal gets a chance to soak up some liquid, becoming pleasantly plump and chewy. Another addition I like is the wheat bran, which gives some sort of nutty flavor to the muffins. (I have a muffin recipe that I love which uses only wheat bran, the taste is amazing, and it is super healthy and full of fiber… but I will post some other time!)
We liked these muffins so much here that I have made it three times already in these past two weeks. I can’t get enough of them; I have been eating them for breakfast and sometimes for a late night snack, sooo good!
I make the batter the night before and let it sit on the fridge overnight, so we can have nice warm muffins out of the oven for breakfast. (It is so nice to smell muffins baking up in the morning!) All three times I made the muffins I used ½ cup of milk instead of the water, and omitted the dried fruits, as I am not a big fan of them (although Matheus loves raisins and asked me to put some in the muffins next time). Also, I used old-fashion rolled oats and did not chop them (I love the pieces of oatmeal in my muffins!), and I got 9 nice sized muffins out of the recipe. Give them a try; they are truly delicious!!
Keeping with the oatmeal theme, I am going to post a recipe I developed for Oatmeal Cake. When I was not feeling good with the nerve pain and all, and able to move a little more, I wanted to bake a cake, but also wanted something a little more nutritious since I was actually going to have cake for diner (you know, not feeling well… cake… comfort food… and to me oatmeal is the perfect comfort food!). I looked over some recipes and based on a CL light recipe for a crumb cake with apples I came out with my own version.
It makes such a small cake that I actually baked it in a 9-inch pie plate (as you can see in the picture above), and let me tell you, I made it for dinner and the cake did not last until next morning’s breakfast. We liked it a lot; it is a very light cake, perfect for an afternoon snack.
Maybe you will like one of these recipes too! And did I already tell you that I love oatmeal?
Enjoy!

Ana

Oatmeal Crumb Cake
1 cup flour
1/3 cup oatmeal
½ cup brown sugar
dash of salt (optional)
¼ cup butter, cut into small pieces
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup milk
1 egg yolk
2 egg whites, beaten into stiff peaks

Pre-heat oven to 350F.
In a bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, and butter. Mix with the tips of your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Reserve ½ cup of this mixture to be used later.
To the remaining mixture add the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, milk, and egg yolk. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the egg whites.
Pour batter into a greased pie plate (or a 8-inch cake pan). Sprinkle the reserved mixture on top. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.
Note: I sprinkled some chopped walnuts before baking and that added a nice crunch to the cake.

Whole Wheat, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins (or other dried fruits)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats, slightly chopped (or quick cooking oats)
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a muffin tin, or line with baking cups.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, wheat bran, sugars, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in dried fruit and oats. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla and water.
Add buttermilk mixture to oat mixture and stir until just combined. Let stand for 15-20 minutes. You may refrigerate the batter, covered, for about a week at this point.
Spoon batter into prepared tins by heaping 1/4 cups (about 1/3 cup).
Bake for 20 minutes, until muffins are golden brown and spring back when gently pressed. Add 5 minutes baking time if batter is cold.
Makes 12 large muffins
(Original Recipe from “Baking in America”)
Note: My muffins were ready after 20 minutes in the oven, and I used the batter straight from the refrigerator.