I have a love-hate relationship with quick breads of all sorts, and that includes muffins. I have to be in the mood for them, and if they’re the least bit dry or predictable I just can’t be bothered. That said, when a really good one appears in front of me I can go to town on it.
I am a carbs-in-the-morning kind of gal. If I don’t get some toast or a scone or some such thing with my coffee I’ll snack all day. So a couple of days ago when the end of my bread turned up moldy, I decided muffins were in order.
Oatmeal is definitely on my list of comfort foods, so it seemed like a good place to turn. I searched for a great oatmeal muffin recipe and found one with a 5-star rating on the Williams Sonoma site. Upon reviewing the recipe I was a little skeptical, however. No spices? Blasphemy! The recipe called for creme fraiche which I didn’t have (no sour cream, either). I decided to tweak the recipe a little to use the whipping cream in the fridge. There were no cranberries left, but we did have a bag of high bush blueberries in the freezer. Breakfast was looking up.
I decided to rectify the spiceless aspect of this recipe with a little bit of cinnamon and a lot of cardamom. Cardamom is my favourite spice to bake with. It gives a unique flavour to anything that works with cinnamon or ginger. It really works well with berries, apples, or candied fruit. And it really, really works well in muffins.
I used oatmeal from Made with Local, a company based in Dartmouth, NS. This oatmeal has flax, so the protein content in these muffins gets a little boost. Bonus!
When these babies came out of the oven, perfect muffin tops peeking above the pan, I knew I had a winner. They have a chewy texture, the flavour is fantastic, and any cup of coffee would be proud to be their mate.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
|
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 1/4 cups uncooked rolled oats with flax
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 4 Tbsp melted butter
- 2 large eggs Free run for happy chicks
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil the cups of a large 12 muffin tin.
- Whisk together water, milk, and cream. Place the oats in a large mixing bowl and pour the cream mixture over the top. Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes. Add berries
- In another bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- Lightly beat the eggs, then add, along with the melted butter, to the oatmeal mixture. Stir well to combine.
- Stir the flour mixture into the oatmeal mixture just enough to moisten all the ingredients.
- Divide the mixture among the 12 muffin cups evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to rest 5 minutes before carefully removing from the pan. Place on a wire rack and serve warm.
