Blueberry Oat Muffins

I am extraordinarily fond of my Blueberry Muffin Baked Oatmeal recipe. It was my very first baked oatmeal attempt, and it ended up being one of the most popular recipes on my blog. It was actually #1 for several months, until the Salted Brownie came along. :)

If that recipe hadn't turned out as well as it had, I might have been turned off baked oatmeal forever. Instead, it sparked my curiosity. Yes, it was more time-consuming and finicky, but it had its pay-offs. Now, of course, I'm almost as obsessed with baked oatmeal as I am with stove-top.

But I'm getting off-track. I realized today that if I loved that recipe so much, why not convert it to mimic actual blueberry muffins?
I must admit, this is the best muffin recipe I've made yet. Each time I make oat muffins, my recipes get more sophisticated. In the beginning, they seemed more like baked oatmeal cups than actual muffins. This batch, however, came out with puffy, golden, rounded tops, just like real muffins. They were a little lighter and puffier than the dense little orbs I used to make (no disrespect to that recipe, though; it's still one of my favorite treats!).

This recipe uses oat flour. You can either purchase this, OR you can save yourself some money and just grind up instant oats at home (Magic Bullet-like blenders work beautifully for this, but I've also had success using regular blenders). Regular rolled oats will work in this recipe, but it will change the texture a bit, and you may have to grind it longer. If you grind your own flour, make sure you measure the flour AFTER grinding, and not before!

Blueberry Oat Muffins

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 15 min

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Ingredients (~10 mini muffins)

• 1 cup oat flour (see notes above)
• 1/2 cup quick oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1/2 cup milk of choice
• 1/4 cup water (or more milk)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon juice (or lemon zest)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray muffin tins with nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix milk, water, vanilla extract, and maple syrup.
3. In another bowl, mix together oat flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir.
4. Fold in blueberries.
5. Fill the muffin tins so they are about 5/6 full. (Note: because the muffins are made with oats, they will not rise as much as conventional muffins.) Top with more instant oats, if preferred.
6. Bake in oven for 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

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Variations:

Blueberry & Banana:

Omit or reduce honey/agave. Add one overripe, mashed banana in step 2.

Blueberry Almond:

Reduce vanilla extract to 1/2 tsp. Add 1/2 tsp almond extract. Top with sliced almonds.

Nutmeg:

Add 1/8 tsp nutmeg in step 3.

Blueberry Walnut:

Add one extra tbsp. of water in step 2 (nuts absorb liquids. If you don't have enough liquid in your batter, your muffins will be dry). Fold in 1/3 cup of chopped raw pecans or walnuts during step 4. (Raw works best because of the baking. I've learned that roasted nuts become gritty and unpleasant if they are baked a second time.)

Blueberry Lemon:

Add 2 tbsp lemon juice in step 2. Top with lemon zest.

**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!