Oatmeal Muffins

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On Saturday morning for breakfast I cooked us a lovely pot of oatmeal . . . the ultimate in comfort food.  When I was a child you could not get me to eat oatmeal for love nor money.  As an adult I love the stuff, and by that I don’t mean the pre-packaged instant type of oats.  I mean the good old fashioned rustic rolled oats!  There is nothing like it.  Sometimes I toast the oats before cooking them for an even tastier treat!

They are so delicious, especially when served with a bit of heavy cream, just lightly napped over top and a light drizzle of date syrup.  Manna from heaven!

I always make sure I cook extra oatmeal when I cook it, just so that I can then make these delicious muffins the next morning.  They are quite simply fabulous!

Rustic and wholesome, filled with lots of sticky raisins, toasted nuts, the sweetness of brown sugar (I use light muscovado if I have it in) and flavoured with vanilla, cinnamon and the merest hint of nutmeg!

They also freeze very well.  I like to keep some in the freezer to just grab when you want something special, real fast!

 I hate waste, don’t you?  These delicious, hearty muffins make sure that what is something most people might just throw away is not wasted at all.  I really like that.

Actually, when my children were growing up, I often chilled leftover cooked oats in a cling film lined small loaf tin, overnight.  The next morning I would slice it into slabs, dust it with flour and fry it in butter.  They loved it with maple syrup.  It was very tasty done that way.   And, the bonus was, they never felt like I was just feeding them leftovers!

 *Breakfast Oatmeal Muffins*
Makes 12

 

These muffins are a great way of using up leftover cooked oatmeal.  I often cook extra oatmeal for breakfast so that I can treat us to a batch of these the day after! 

140g of plain flour (1 cup)
200g of soft light brown sugar (1 cup packed)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
120ml of vegetable oil (1/2 cup)
2 large free range eggs beaten
180g of leftover cooked oatmeal cereal (about 1 cup)
150g of raisins (1 cup)
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans (optional)
1 tsp vanilla 

 Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Grease a 12 cup medium muffin tin very well.  Set aside. 

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Whisk together the leftover oatmeal, eggs, and vanilla.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients only to moisten.  Fold in the raisins and nuts (if using).  Spoon into the greased muffin cups, dividing the batter evenly amongst them.
 

Bake for 18 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Let sit in the pan for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool somewhat before eating.

I really hope you will give these a go!  Why not cook a bit of extra oats the next time you are making it for breakfast, just so you can bake these!  If you are not fond of raisins, chopped dates or even dried cranberries also work very well!  Bon Appetit!