Easy Oat & Brown Sugar Breakfast Muffins

My partner recently told me that he dislikes the muffins at his golf club. He used words such as “plastic”, “mass-produced”, and “cakey” to describe them. Now I believe there is a place in this world for such muffins, but when you are about to walk around for 4 hours and haven’t had breakfast, they would not be my first choice either. If you have the option, opting for a more balanced, filling, and nutritious breakfast muffin will be more effective at keeping you full and energized throughout your morning. Pairing this muffin with a scoop of peanut butter and a banana equals a quick, easy, and balanced way to start the day!

These muffins are packed with oats and whole wheat flour, both of which are great fiber-rich carbohydrates that will slow the absorption of glucose (sugar) into the bloodstream. This will prevent that major energy rush followed by the inevitable crash that comes soon after eating something that consists of processed ingredients such as white flour. These fiber-rich ingredients will instead digest more slowly, resulting in a slower, more uniform absorption of glucose into the blood, keeping your energy levels stable for longer.

These Easy Oat & Brown Sugar Breakfast Muffins are great for busy weekdays when you simply don’t have the time to make breakfast or snacks. Additionally, they freeze well, so feel free to make a double batch and keep them in the freezer!

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups milk of choice

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup oil (canola, sunflower, melted coconut, etc.)

2 medium eggs

1 cup additions *optional - any combination of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 °F. Oil the cups on a 12 muffin tin and set aside.

Add rolled oats and milk to a medium bowl and set aside to soak.

To a large bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Mix until combined using a wooden spoon or spatula.

Combine brown sugar and oil to another large bowl. Whisk for about a minute and add the eggs. Continue to whisk until the mixture has lightened in colour and looks creamy, another minute or two.

Pour the oat and milk mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix that together until just combined.

Pour the newly combined wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined. It is ok if there are still dry spots remaining.

Add your additions to the bowl and continue to fold them into the batter. Try not to over-mix.

Scoop equal amounts of batter into each cup in the prepared muffin tin. This recipe makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center of a muffin.

Let cool for a couple minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!