Healthy Muffin Recipes: Best Oatmeal Muffins How To Make With Two Easy Recipes

Many years ago, in fact in the late 1970s, we were living in Michigan and I was a very young miss. I was just starting out with our first son, Jonathan and I was also starting my illustrious cooking career!

One of the first things that I 'perfected' back then and found to be an all-time favorite was my recipe for Oatmeal Muffins. Over the years, I had forgotten how wonderful these can be until I connected with my husband's niece, Nancy, on Facebook! She asked me for the recipe because she could still remember me baking them and how delicious they were.

The photo shows oatmeal muffins with blueberries added - a great touch and wish I'd thought of that back then!

The first recipe is from one of Betty Crocker's old cookbooks (from the 1950's edition) that was then revamped and submitted by Doris Barnaal using more 'modern ingredients'.

The second recipe is from my oldest Betty Crocker cookbook though I have no idea what year it is from because I only have my favorite saved pages!

This one's for you, Nancy - I hope your kids enjoy it as much as mine did, although I seem to have learned many years later that Jonathan was trading these for Twinkies at lunchtime.  I understand that they did bring a very good price on the 'black market' for snack trades!

(When you have ADD and your mom insists on cooking everything from scratch, you gotta have an out!)

Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup quick oats or regular oats
• 1 cup buttermilk (low-fat or regular)
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
• 1 egg beaten (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt (or as desired)
• Vegetable spray
  

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees. (I prefer 375 degrees because the muffins seem to be less hard)
2. Spray muffin cups with vegetable spray.
   
3. Mix together oats and buttermilk - let stand for 5-10 minutes.
4. In separate large bowl, combine oil, sugar and egg - whisk to mix well.
5. In a separate small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk or stir to combine.
6. Add dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients. Mix lightly - just until flour is absorbed. Do not over-beat.
7. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
8. Bake at 375-400 degrees for 18-20 minutes - or until golden. Remove from tins and cool on wire rack after letting sit for a few minutes in the muffin pan.
   

Tip: Do not use muffin papers as they tend to make muffins drier.

Store at room temperature for 1-2 days or refrigerate or freeze; reheat in the microwave.

ADDITIONS

• Add 1/2-1 cup of frozen or fresh blueberries to batter
• Add chopped walnuts to batter
• Add chopped dried cranberries to batter
• Add chopped dried pineapple to batter
• Add chopped almonds to batter

Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
  
• 3/4 cup milk (low-fat, non-fat or regular)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup quick or regular oats
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon salt (or as desired)
• 1 cup raisins if desired
  
• Vegetable spray
  

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees. (I prefer 375 degrees because the muffins seem to be less hard)
2. Spray muffin cups lightly with vegetable spray.
   
3. Beat egg.
   
4. Combine milk and oil in large bowl. Add raisins if using (or other substitution).
   
5. Combine flour, oats, spices and baking powder in another small bowl.
   
6. Stir all remaining ingredients into egg just until moistened.
7. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
8. Bake at 375-400 degrees for 18-20 minutes - or until golden. Remove from tins and cool on wire rack after letting sit for a few minutes in the muffin pan.
   

Tip: Not using muffin papers will keep muffins from being too dry.

Again, store at room temperature for 1-2 days or refrigerate or freeze; reheat in the microwave.

SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS

• As above - use any of the additions such as dried fruits, nuts or blueberries
• Add fresh raspberries or strawberries
  
• For buttermilk muffins, substitute buttermilk for the milk. Reduce the baking powder to 2 teaspoons and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
  

Oatmeal muffins are a delicious type of muffin and can be livened up with so many additional things such as blueberries, nuts, or raisins.

They can also of course be made as mini-muffins or giant muffins. Just adjust your baking time accordingly and check the middle with a toothpick or a cake tester to assure doneness - but don't overbake as they will become dry.

You can also substitute brown sugar for the regular sugar in recipe #2 and add chopped apple.

Another variation is to fill the muffin cup half full and put a teaspoonful of jam in the center, then top off with more batter.

Dried apricots and nuts make a wonderful addition to oatmeal muffins as well.

In short, there are many variations you can come up with to enjoy oatmeal muffins many different ways - as a light breakfast treat or as a snack with a cup of tea or coffee in the afternoon.

No matter what way you come up with, enjoy one of my favorite healthy recipes!

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