Leftover Oatmeal Muffins
I’ve been eating a lot of this oatmeal the past few months. Some days I toast the oats first, and somedays I don’t. But I always use the slow-cook method now, steaming them in milk in a closed pot for ten minutes. Since the leftovers warm up nicely, I never have a problem using them up, but when I happened across this muffin recipe that calls for leftover cooked oatmeal via Molly Wizenberg’s blog and then Luisa Weiss at The Wednesday Chef, I couldn’t resist giving them a try. They turned out better than I could have imagined – a light, moist crumb punctuated by tender berries. They contain very little sugar and a minimal amount of fat, and of course you can’t argue with whole oats. But the bottom line is that they are delicious. Forget the Starbucks 600-calorie bombs. Try these instead.
Of course I’ve messed around with these to suit my own taste. A little white wheat flour for more fiber. Some vanilla. Twice as many blueberries. And I found I needed more milk than the other recipes called for.
The result: these are now my favorite muffins. And I make extra oatmeal just so I can make them.
They come together in just a few minutes if you have oatmeal waiting to be used up, and bake up in under 20. Easy peasy, even at 6:30 in the morning. I drink my first cup of coffee while I’m stirring the batter (thanks Keurig, for coffee in a flash) and my second with a muffin hot from the oven.
Make these. You won’t be sorry.
Leftover Oatmeal Muffins
Adapted from Molly Wizenberg and Luisa Weiss (and some other folks before them)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/4 cup cane sugar, honey or maple syrup
1 cup cooked oatmeal (any kind)
1 large egg
3/4 cup milk or buttermilk
2 tablespoons sweet butter (unsalted) or coconut oil, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, or other mix-ins (nuts, seeds, dried fruit, other berries – whatever you like)
Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease a muffin pan (6-cup jumbo or regular 12-cup) with butter or coconut oil.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and sugar if you’re using it (if using honey or maple syrup, add it with the liquid ingredients).
In a separate, smaller bowl, lightly beat the egg with a fork.
Using a fork, mash the cooked oatmeal into the egg until fully combined.
Stir in the milk, vanilla and butter or coconut oil (and the honey or maple syrup if that’s your sweetener of choice).
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until just fully combined. The mixture will start to “puff” pretty quickly as the baking powder reacts to the dairy. The batter will be thick, not soupy. Fold in the blueberries.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. (Tip: I use a large cookie scoop to do this.)
Bake 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Makes 6 jumbo or 12 regular muffins.
Here’s the printer-friendly version.
Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!
