Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

My sister has informed me that it has been nine months since my last post... I could have birthed a baby since my last post. Unfortunately, I did not but I'm going to try really hard to get more up.

Today I have DELICIOUS blueberry muffins! I found the recipe in the July/August 2011 issue of Cooking with Paula. There is a whole section in the magazine that use blueberries and this is only the first of many that I plan on making!

I love blueberry muffins. Especially when they have a crumble top but when I saw the recipe for these I got really excited, even if they lacked the crumble top. What really got me excited was the orange zest in it. I love how blueberries and citrus taste together.

What REALLY made these muffins incredible was the oatmeal. I'm not an "oatmeal-in-my-baked-goods" kinda girl. I don't care for oatmeal in my cookies or muffins so I was a little skeptical. But this recipe has you soak one cup of oatmeal in one cup of 2% milk for ten minutes which I think was the best thing that I could have ever done. The muffins were so moist and I really attribute it to the oatmeal soak.

I hope you enjoy these more than my husband. This was our exchange:

Husband: (takes bite) Hmm..

Me: Yes?

Husband: Does this have orange in it?

Me: Just some orange zest, only a tablespoon.

Husband: Hmm..

Me: ...Do...you..not like it?

Husband: They don't taste like how I would expect them to taste.

Me: What did you expect?

Husband: Costco blueberry muffins.

Me: Dear, those aren't muffins. They are little blueberry cakes.

So, to wrap up...if you only like your muffins to taste like the giant muffins/little cakes at Costco, you won't like these. But I LOVE THEM!

Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

From: Cooking with Paula July/August 2011

1 c. old-fashioned oatmeal (I used quick oats and it was fine)

1 c. 2% reduced-fat milk (I actually used whole since I have it for the baby who won't drink it)

1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 T. orange zest

1 egg

1 c. AP flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. cinnamon (who measures cinnamon? i sure don't.)

1/2 c. chopped pecans (DELICIOUS! They add an incredible crunch!)

1 1/2 c. frozen blueberries (I think you could easily use fresh or thawed blueberries, but I would recommend tossing them in flour before adding them to the mix so they don't bleed too much in your batter)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, stir together oats and milk, let stand for 10 minutes. Add sugar, oil, orange zest, and egg, and stir well.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, powder, soda and cinnamon. Add pecans, tossing well. Add flour mixture into oatmeal mixture, stirring just until combined. Gently, but quickly, fold in ONLY 1 cup of the blueberries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with remaining 1/2 c. blueberries.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!