Blueberry oat muffins

Last Sunday, on a rainy afternoon, I thought I'd make a batch of muffins. It's always a good time to make muffins.  Lately, I've been inspired by Cooking Light's Healthy Habits Cookbook, which I picked up on sale after the holidays.  It isn't a diet book by any means, or necessarily a cookbook though there are a good amount of recipes in it.  It essentially consolidates the 12 healthy habits the magazine had been discussing throughout the past year into one place.  I'm glad I bought it because it's like a good reference book; there are a lot of useful information, healthy recipes, and tips that I see myself going back to for inspiration.  

Ground oats and plenty of blueberries in these muffins

These blueberry oat muffins are one of the recipes in the book.  I feel like you can never have too many muffin recipes in your arsenal so I'm always interested in trying a new one out.  Muffins are just easy to whip up and they make for a great snack, treat, or a sweet breakfast if you're so inclined.  My husband's sweet tooth is activated from the moment he wakes up til bedtime so he's always game for muffins.  With a tight schedule in the morning, they make a quick breakfast option on some days for him, too.  The goal, of course, is to find recipes that are more muffin than cupcake.

They turned out more moist than I expected...the brown sugar helps

My husband had recently requested blueberry banana muffins, which I (eventually) made and he polished off.  I thought these blueberry oat ones would be a similar alternative that he'd also like. And happily, I was right.  We both like the sweetness from brown sugar and the background note of cinnamon here.  We also like the flavor and texture from ground oats and whole wheat flour. Buttermilk, along with a little canola oil, provides moisture.  Of course, there are plenty of blueberries, which adds even more moisture, along with some lemon zest that just goes so naturally with it.

I made a half recipe, or 9 muffins.  Using frozen blueberries, it's easy to put a batch together.  The muffins stayed moist for a couple of days at room temperature and I stowed a few away in the freezer for a quick breakfast to come.  The freezer has become a very good friend of mine these days.  

I sprinkled turbinado sugar over the top of the muffins for a little texture

Is it me or is the middle muffin smiling at us?  I love a happy muffin.

I like the convenience of using frozen blueberries for muffins since I'm likely to have them on hand but I'm also looking forward to making a batch or two with fresh ones when they're in season.  Toss the frozen blueberries in a bit of flour to keep them from streaking the batter too much.  If you use fresh blueberries, you can skip that step.


Recipe:

Blueberry Oat Muffins
Adapted from Cooking Light

- For 9 muffins - 

1/2 plus 1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup (1.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1.17 ounces) whole wheat flour (I use white whole wheat flour)
6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup frozen blueberries (can use fresh instead)
1 tablespoon flour (omit if using fresh blueberries)
1 tablespoon granulated, coarse, or turbinado sugar, for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line 9 standard-size muffin cups with paper liners.

Grind oats in a food processor or small chopper until oats resemble the texture of coarse meal.  Place in a large bowl, along with the flours, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and make a well in the center of the bowl.

In a large measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, oil, egg, lemon zest, and vanilla together. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir together until almost combined. Toss the frozen blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour (if using fresh blueberries, just add them alone) and gently fold it into the batter.

Divide batter into the 9 prepared muffin cups (the batter will come nearly to the top).  Sprinkle each with a bit of sugar, if using.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until muffins spring back lightly to the touch. Let muffins cool a few minutes in the pan on a wire rack, then remove from the pan to cool completely.