Maple Oatmeal Muffins

My entire family was home and awake Saturday morning. La Petite was up earlier than usual to babysit for her adorable cousin, Amigo was home from school and had no Forensics meet or sporting events, and both Chuck and I were up and at 'em. Having everyone here at once is a big enough deal that I baked. I love to bake, and I like cooking brunches, but we never seem to have the right occasion to celebrate with a brunch or breakfast. This time, I picked a muffin recipe to treat the entire family.

Whole wheat pastry flour has become my go-to for baked goods such as muffins. If you don't have it, go ahead and use all-purpose flour. It'll work just fine.

Ingredients for Maple Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup milk

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions for Maple-Oatmeal Muffins

1. Prepare muffin tin for 12 standard size muffins.

2. In a medium bowl, combine oats and milk. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. Stir maple syrup, melted butter, and eggs into the oats mixture.

5. Add wet ingredients all at once to dry. Stir until just moist; batter may still be lumpy.

6. Add half of the chopped pecans.

7. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full. Sprinkle with remaining nuts.

8. Bake in 400 degree oven for 15-18 minutes. Cool for ten minutes, if you can wait that long. Serve warm - with coffee, of course.

Daisy's notes:

Use real syrup. The cheap kind in the plastic bottles? Forget it. Get real, pure, maple syrup. Look around; someone near you may have had a good maple sap season and have some to spare!

This recipe turned out slightly dry. Next time I might add a bit more milk or butter. It wasn't a problem; everyone in the family ate them and pronounced the muffins "good."

Raisins might work in these, too. What do you think?

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