Easy Date & Oatmeal Muffins (small batch)

 

I was looking for a delicious muffin to bake for the weekend and came across this recipe for Oatmeal Muffins on a blog called Vintage Kitchen Notes.  I loved the simplicity of them.  An easy recipe for moist and fluffy oatmeal muffins that is not too sweet.

When I want a muffin, I don't want a cupcake and vice versa. Too many muffin recipes today are more like cupcakes than they are muffins. Muffins should be a bit heavier than a cupcake with a coarser texture and they should not eat like a cake. They are meant to be a type of bread.

 

 

Slightly raised with pebbly tops.  Riddled with tiny holes, all the better for soaking up some cold butter. Tell me I am not the only one who likes to enjoy a hot muffin split and spread with butter!!

They also shouldn't be the size of a house. I like a medium to small muffin myself. A lot of muffins that are sold in the shops and coffee houses are far too large, too sweet, and too cakey.  I am not overly fussy about that type of muffin.  

These oatmeal muffins promised to be proper muffins. Not tiny cakes.  Just as a muffin should be and, spoiler alert!  They turned out to be exactly like a proper muffin should be!'

 

Mine did end up looking a tad more rustic than the original ones did. Perhaps because I used the old fashioned oats?  I don't know.  The rusticity of them  in no way impacted the flavor. They were lovely.

I took the liberty of cutting the recipe in half to small batch it for six muffins only. I also added chopped dates because I like a muffin with a bit of fruit in it and dates are one of my favorites to enjoy with oats. Think Date squares.  Wholesome and toothy.  Just right.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE EASY DATE & OATMEAL MUFFINS

Some pretty simple ordinary every day baking ingredients. I like to use the old fashioned oats for these, for the extra texture and nuttiness they impart, but you can use regular oats.  Just don't use instant oats.

• 3/4 cup (60g) traditional oats
• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, at room temperature (see notes)
• 3/4 cup (94g) all purpose plain flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup (60ml) light olive oil
• 1 medium free range egg, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown or white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (75g) chopped pitted dates

 

As  I said if everything is at room temperature you can't go wrong.  I like the old fashioned oatmeal. It imparts a lovely nuttiness to the muffin.  You can use regular oatmeal.  Just don't use porridge or instant oats. You will not get the same results.

I tell you in the recipe notes how to make your own buttermilk substitute. I can appreciate that it is not available everywhere. In the U.K. you can find it near the cream in the milk chiller cabinet. I used to only be able to get it in 250ml containers.  In Ireland they can get it by the liter, as you an here in Canada as well. 

I used organic granulated sugar, which is not white, but it is not brown either. You can use either brown or white sugar.

The dates and vanilla were my own addition. I love dates with oatmeal and I thought the vanilla would really help to highlight the flavor of the dates. If you want a simpler muffin you can always leave both of those out without any problem.

HOW TO MAKE EASY DATE & OATMEAL MUFFIN

These really are very easy to make.  Just don't overmix the batter and you can be assured of a lovely light and tender muffin. Also try to make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will give you a much nicer muffin.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a six cup muffin tin really well, or line with paper liners.

Whisk the oatmeal and buttermilk together. Leave to stand while you get the remaining ingredients ready.

Whisk the flour, soda, salt and baking powder together to combine. Stir in the sugar and the dates.

Whisk the egg, and oil together with the vanilla. Stir into the oatmeal buttermilk mixture. Do not beat.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing all together just to combine. Again do not beat, or you will end up with a tough muffin. If you think the mixture is a bit too dry, add a bit more buttermilk.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups filling them almost all the way to the top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

HINTS AND TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST MUFFINS

1. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. To prevent the mix from being overworked, first mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and mix the dry ingredients in another. Make a well in the dry ingredients, carefully pour in the wet ingredients, then stir the mix a couple of times to roughly combine. 

 2. Don't over mix your muffins. The most important rule of muffin making is to not over stir the mix. What you really want is to just moisten the ingredients. Do not stir or beat the batter until it is smooth and lump free. You want the final mix to be lumpy, and thick with a few floury streaks.

 3. Add your flavors last.  While spices should be added with all the other dry ingredients, additions like fruit and nuts should be added last. Give the batter one more light-handed stir once you've added them in just to combine. 

4. Line the pans. You can choose to either grease the muffin tin or line it with paper liners. If you choose to forgo the liners, make sure you grease the base and sides of the cups with oil spray or a little melted butter. If you're not going to eat the muffins for a while, do use paper liners as these will keep the muffins fresher for longer. 

 5. Don't overfill your pans. Aim to fill the cups ¾ full to get muffins with nice round tops and to prevent them from spilling out over the top of the cups.  Often if your tins are over filled the muffins will rise to the top and then collapse on themselves.

 6. For extra interest, add a flavorful sprinkle on top.  Once the muffin cups are all filled, you can choose to sprinkle the tops with more fruit, nuts or a crumble topping, even sanding sugar or cinnamon sugar, for even more taste and or crunch. As the muffins rise these toppings will cook into the tops of the muffin. 

7. Protect your baking pan.  If there isn't enough batter to fill all the cups, half fill the empty ones with water. This will help the muffins bake evenly and will help to protect your pan from buckling. 

8. Cooling them down. Once you remove the muffins from the oven, let them sit in their pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. This is especially important for muffins that aren't in a paper liner, as it will help them from falling apart. However, remove them after five minutes otherwise you risk them going soggy as they cool in the pan. 

9. Freeze extras for later. Muffins freeze beautifully, so if you can't enjoy them all on the day they're baked, wrap them in plastic wrap  tightly,  and put them in the freezer for later. They will keep for about 3 months and reheat wonderfully in the microwave for about 30 seconds on high from frozen.

 

These may not be the prettiest muffin in the box, but they sure were delicious!   Not too sweet, they had a beautiful moist texture. They were everything a good muffin should be.

Low in fat, with lots of lovely bits of date scattered throughout.  I loved the wholesome nuttiness that using old fashioned oats brings to the table.

Altogether these were an excellent muffin!

If you are a fan of really great muffins, either for breakfast, brunch or just a mid morning pick me up, then you might also really enjoy the following:

SPECIAL K MUFFINS - I  love muffins that are interesting, which is why I add extra cereal to the tops of these delicious muffins.  I used the Special K with red berries, but I did not put any berries on top. Its been my experience that these will burn unappealingly. For a bit of crunch, however, some of the cereal crushed and sprinkled on top is great! These are the PERFECT breakfast muffins. Quick to make. Easy. Delicious. I highly recommend.

ULTIMATE BUTTERMILK BRAN MUFFINS - I think my favorite type of muffin of all the types of muffins you can get today are plain old fashioned Bran Muffins. There is nothing pretentious about them.  No bells. No whistles. Just humble ordinary ingredients. They are simple and they are delicious.  This recipe is especially nice, yielding a muffin that is super moist and delicious, with a well rounded bakery style top. You cannot go wrong with one of these!

Yield: 6

Author: Marie Rayner

Easy Date & Oatmeal Muffins

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min

Moist, fluffy, not too sweet. Studded with lovely bits of dates, this rustic wholesome oatmeal muffin is a pleaser on all levels. A small batch recipe.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (60g) traditional oats
• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, at room temperature (see notes)
• 3/4 cup (94g) all purpose plain flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup (60ml) light olive oil
• 1 medium free range egg, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown or white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (75g) chopped pitted dates

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a six cup muffin tin really well, or line with paper liners.
2. Whisk the oatmeal and buttermilk together. Leave to stand while you get the remaining ingredients ready.
3. Whisk the flour, soda, salt and baking powder together to combine. Stir in the sugar and the dates.
4. Whisk the egg, and oil together with the vanilla. Stir into the oatmeal buttermilk mixture. Do not beat.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing all together just to combine. Again do not beat, or you will end up with a tough muffin. If you think the mixture is a bit too dry, add a bit more buttermilk.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups filling them almost all the way to the top.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes

TO MAKE YOUR OWN BUTTERMILK:

1. You can do this in one of two ways. Add 1/2 TBS lemon juice or white vinegar to a cup and whole milk to the measure. Leave to clabber for five minutes.
2. Whisk together equal parts of plain full fat yogurt and full fat milk to equal the amount needed.

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