Oatmeal Muffin (Take 2)

 

Fresh out of oven.....

A few days ago, I made my first attempt of the oatmeal muffin, and the results were quite fantastic. According to review on epicurious, this recipe is supposed to be very flexible that you can make your own modifications. Since I still have my big bottle of buttermilk sitting in my fridge waiting to be consumed, I decided that I'd join the crowd and try to change things up a bit.

Changes i made:

• Instead of butter, vegetable oil was used
• brown sugar quantity was cut in half
• half of the all purpose flour was substituted with rye flour
• added 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• butterscotch chips in place of dried fruit
• lower oven temperature and slightly longer baking time

With all the modifications I made, I was a bit scared of the result. I mean, usually I'd change one thing at a time, so if things didn't turn out well, I knew exactly what went wrong. However, with all the raving reviews on epicurous, I decided to just jump at it and save myself some trials.

Indeed, the "modified" muffin recipe tastes great! The recipe can definitely use some additional modification, but it's off to a great start!

Oatmeal Muffin (Take 2)

Yields: 1 dozen muffin (regular size)

Adapted from Epicurious.com

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1 extra large egg, lightly beaten, room temperature
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil 
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of rye flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup of butterscotch chips

1. Soak rolled oats in buttermilk in a large mixing bowl for at least 1 hour. (This is very important, as this is the key to its soft texture)

2. Preheat oven to 375F, line muffin tins with paper cups

3. Add egg, oil, vanilla extract, and brown sugar to oats mixture. Stirring until just combined.

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir with a fork to ensure even mixing. Add the dry ingredients to the oats mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in butterscotch chips.

5. Divide the batter evenly among muffin tins. Tap the baking pan on counter to release any large bubbles. Bake the muffins in the middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.