Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Ok, honestly..how many people actually have time to sit down and have a nice breakfast during the week?! I remember the days when I would wake up at my leisure, have a nice pancake breakfast, and take my time getting ready for a class starting at noon. Those days are long gone, out the door, can’t even really remember if they were a reality or not!

Now my schedule goes like this…alarm goes off at 5:40 am…hit the snooze…alarm goes off at 5:47 am…can’t hit the snooze again…better get up or I’ll fall back asleep and never make it to work…shower…go to the kitchen….put my lunch together…inhale a bowl of cereal or some pb toast…back upstairs to finish getting ready…out the door at 6:45 am!

Now, I really refuse to wake up earlier than 5:40 am, and I hate having less than 5 minutes to eat my breakfast so more often than not, I take something to work to eat at my desk. Breakfast is such an important meal that it really can’t be skipped, and it’s important to get something nutritious in to start off your day! When I saw these muffins, I knew they would be a perfect bring to work breakfast. They combine hearty oats, fresh blueberries, and super powered walnuts which are full of omega-3s! One of these little babies along with a banana or yogourt is a perfect breakfast, and something that’s easy to grab on the go when mornings are crazy. These will also freeze well so you could just take them out as you need them.

**The original recipe had 2 tbsp of honey as well, but I just completely forgot to add it in! The muffins are still delicious as they are, so it’s up to you if you want to add it in or not. If you do, add it when you’re combining the brown sugar, applesauce etc.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Slightly Adapted from Skinny Taste

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Combine oats and milk in a small bowl and soak for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, applesauce, egg whites, oil and vanilla, and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add oat mixture to wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients, and stir until just combined.

Fold in blueberries and nuts.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, and bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 12 muffins.

Baked Oatmeal

There’s something so comforting about waking up on the weekend, and being able to relax, enjoy a cup of coffee, and actually take a little time to prepare a delicious breakfast. During the week, breakfast is always an afterthought through the hustle and bustle of getting ready and getting out the door on time for work. I never skip breakfast, but it usually consists of something quick and cold like a bowl of cereal. Don’t get me wrong, I looooove my cereal, but a warm breakfast is always welcome every now and then. Usually on the weekends I will make some oatmeal, or pancakes, but I have been meaning to try baked oatmeal for a while now as I have seen it popping up all over the blogosphere lately.

Baked oatmeal is somewhere between regular oatmeal and a muffin. It’s denser than a muffin, but it does have that ‘cakey’ texture to it. Basically, it is AMAZING! I was able to throw this together pretty quickly and we enjoyed our coffee while it was baking away in the oven. I improvised a little to use what I had on hand, and I can see so many ways to customize and change this base recipe in the future by adding different fruits or nuts.

If you’re looking for something warm, comforting and FILLING for a lazy weekend morning, give this a try. It’s healthy too so you can feel good about starting your day right, and it will keep you full for hours on end!

There is no sugar added, so if you favour a sweeter oatmeal, you can add a little brown sugar or honey, but we found it delicious as is. The banana and apple add a natural sweetness, and you can  serve it with fresh fruit or a drizzle of maple syrup as well. 

This makes enough to serve 6, but you can always keep leftovers in the fridge to reheat during the week!

Baked Oatmeal

Slightly Adapted from Peanut Butter Fingers

• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups  milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup applesauce*
• 1/3 cup yogourt
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup coconut, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, steel cut oats, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine and set aside.

In a separate bowl combine milk,egg, applesauce and yogourt and mix to fully combine.

Add milk mixture to oat mixture and stir to combine. Stir in bananas, almonds and coconut.

Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish (mine was a square dish, but as long as it holds 8 cups of liquid, it should be big enough no matter what shape it is)

Sprinkle cinnamon on top and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, stir and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until top is golden brown.

Serve with fresh fruit, milk, yogourt, maple syrup or to your liking!

*I didn’t have any applesauce but I did have a lonely granny smith apple hanging out in the fridge. I peeled and chopped it into small pieces, and microwaved, covered, with a bit of water for 2 minutes. Mash it up and you have makeshift applesauce!

 

 

Sweet and Salty Granola Bars

I hope everyone is surviving after that frigidly cold weekend we just experienced. Maybe you all didn’t feel it, but I definitely felt it in Ottawa and I was not too impressed that I had to drag my winter coat out of the closet this weekend. If there’s one thing that puts Toronto above Ottawa, it’s the weather! It’s so freakin’ cold in Ottawa! It’s not even natural sometimes! Thank god summer is on the way…I am already dreaming about patios, beaches, swimming, hot dogs, ice cream, and SUN! Remember when you were a kid and summer seemed to last f0r-ev-err. All you had to do was wake up, find your friends and run around outside all day everyday eating popsicles and filling up your little paper bag with 5 cent candies at the convenience store. Do they still sell 5 cent candies at the convenience store? I may have to check this out one day soon.

Anyways, this treat can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike! I am very interested in finding ways to reduce the amount of processed food that I buy at the grocery store. While we don’t buy granola bars all the time, they are good to have on hand for a quick snack when time is short. I am obsessed with these chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzels found at the bulk barn, so this recipe really caught my eye. The peanut butter-pretzel combo is almost magic.

I changed the recipe only slightly from the original  only to use what I had on hand. I used Cheerios instead of the puffed rice, and canola oil instead of the butter. I also used salted peanuts to increase the salty factor a bit. I think the recipe is pretty forgiving, so use what you have on hand, keeping the liquid to dry ratios as they are.

These are really really good, and my intentions of keeping them on hand for emergency snacks didn’t work so well once I tasted them. But, at least I can feel relieved because I know EXACTLY what went into these granola bars, and I can be confident that I’m not ingesting anything weird with a long chemically-sounding name.

Sweet and Salty Granola Bars

Slightly Adapted from How Sweet Eats

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup Cheerios cereal
• 1/2 cup salted pretzels, crushed
• 1/8 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup roasted, salted peanuts
• 1/3 cup peanut butter (I used the natural kind)
• 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp + 2 tsp honey
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used the mini ones)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine oats, Cheerios, pretzels, flaxseed, brown sugar and flour. Stir to combine.

Add peanut butter and mix well with a spoon to incorporate (You will have to stir it for a few minutes, and it will begin to resemble a ‘dough’. Everything should be fully combined).

Combine canola oil with vanilla, and add to dough. Add honey and stir to fully moisten and combine everything. Stir in chocolate chips.

Press dough into a greased 8×8 baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let cool completely before cutting or it will be crumbly!

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Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve gone on in the past about oatmeal raisin cookies, and how my non-dessert loving boyfriend requested them every week for about a month. So I was a little surprised when he requested oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for a change.

I saw this recipe on How Sweet Eats and I am so glad that I tried it!! The texture of this cookie was perfectly chewy and soft. There is a hint of cinnamon in the dough, which I think brings the whole cookie together. If your mom ever made those Quaker oatmeal chocolate chip muffins when you were a kid, this is them in cookie form! I am not a fan of pre-made baking mixes, but those muffins are soooo good. I should try to replicate them from scratch one day… hmmmm.

These cookies did not last long in our house, I really had to restrain myself from eating 5 in one sitting because they really are THAT good. These have less oatmeal, and more flour than my oatmeal raisin cookies, so upon first glance, the oatmeal may not be overly noticeable, but once you take a bite, the distinguishable texture is there.

Of all people, I definitely know how tempting it is to go back to your trusty favourite standby cookie recipe when you get the baking urge, but try these ones out next time, you won’t be disappointed! I will definitely be adding these into my favourite cookie rotation. Don’t tell me you don’t have a cookie rotation….whaaaaat?!

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from How  Sweet Eats

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room  temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1-2 tbsp milk (if needed to make dough come together)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine butter and sugars and beat with a mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir dry ingredients into wet by hand. Stir in oats and mix until dough comes together. If dough is very crumbly, add in 1 tbsp of milk until it comes together. You can keep adding milk by the tbsp until the dough comes together, I didn’t have to add any milk to mine, so you should be fine. Fold in chocolate chips.

Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and flatten slightly on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Mine were perfectly done in 9 mins. Let cool on baking sheet for a minute, then move to a cooling rack.

Almond Butter Banana Muffins

It’s been a long time, I know, but I’m back, and I have an amazing recipe for you! I was so excited at the idea of this recipe, and even more excited when I tasted the finished product. These banana muffins are perfectly moist, flavourful and addicting! The best part about them is that they contain almond butter instead of oil or butter, and that they contain oats rather than flour. You don’t even taste the almond butter, it just acts as a fat in place of the traditional less healthy ones. You HAVE to try these, I am begging you! They are probably the best banana muffins I have ever had, and I don’t have to feel as guilty when eating them. The protein from the almond butter and the whole grains from the oats make these a great breakfast. I like to enjoy one alongside some yogurt for a quick nutritious breakfast.

You could try subbing peanut butter for the almond butter, but use the natural kind (ingredients should only include peanuts and maybe salt).  If you’re not on the almond butter train yet, get on it! You’ll never look back, I promise!

Almond Butter Banana Muffins

Adapted from Heather Eats Almond Butter

• 3 ripe mashed bananas
• ¼ cup almond butter (or any nut butter)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cups oat flour (pulse 2 cups old fashioned oats in food processor**)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt (leave out if using salted nut butter)
• ½ cup chocolate chips

Stir together bananas, almond butter, sugar, egg white and vanilla until combined and creamy. In a separate bowl combine oat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add dry mix into wet mixture, stirring just to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into paper lined or greased muffin pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 mins until a toothpick comes out clean.

**To make oat flour, put 2 cups of old fashioned oats (the big flake ones, not the instant kind) into a food processor and pulse a few times until they are broken up. I didn’t blend mine until it was powdery like flour, I left a bit of texture, but it’s entirely up to you how fine you want the oats to be.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I don’t know why, but raisin is one of those words that I just can’t spell. I always want to type ‘raisen’ but then I know that can’t be right…so it must be ‘raisin’! Am I crazy?!? And why I am even typing that word so often anyways?

I made these cookies this past Sunday afternoon. Baking on a lazy Sunday afternoon is the perfect way to prepare for the week ahead, and round out the weekend. I can remember when I was younger and I would  do everything I could to convince my mom to make homemade cookies. To me, they were the best thing I had ever tasted in the world. It’s funny because my mom usually always made the recipe on the back of the chocolate chips package, which I too have made a million times, but they just never taste as good as when my mom made them. Mom’s have special powers like that.
I had planned to make chocolate chip cookies because I have what seems to be a neverending list of recipes to try, each one only slightly different than the last, but always hoping to find the *perfect* one. However, once I proposed my idea, I was persuaded into making an oatmeal cookie. I don’t get many baking requests in this household, so I will take whatever I can get!!

I decided to try a new recipe and I was not dissapointed. I did half oatmeal raisin, half oatmeal chocolate chip. Both were delicious, but the raisin ones were a step above. Even the skeptic who hates raisins agreed that they were amazing. I know there are a lot of raisin haters out there, but trust me, in these cookies, they are so much better than chocolate chips!! I didn’t add any nuts only because I didn’t have any, but walnuts would be a good addition as well. These cookies have the slightest hint of cinnamon, which is not too overpowering. You can always add more cinnamon if you like, or experiment with other spices such as nutmeg or cloves.

Mine were done baking in 8 minutes, the edges were already pretty brown, so keep your eye on them! Every oven works a little differently, but definitely start checking around 8 minutes.

EDIT: I had originally written up this post on Sunday, and I will let you know that these cookies were gone by Tuesday, and ANOTHER BATCH was made. It was ridiculous. There are only two of us living in this apartment, and I will tell you that it was not me who thought to make a second batch. They really are THAT good. I used all raisins in the second batch because we found ourselves looking for the ones with raisins in the first batch..just do it!!

The recipe makes about 18 cookies with my 1 1/2 tbsp cookie scoop.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup raisins or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350degrees

Cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla together with hand mixer on medium speed, until smooth and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, whisk  together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture and stir just until combined.

Add oats, and raisins or chocolate chips to mixture and mix until incorporated.

Scoop or roll into balls and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Keep unused dough in fridge while cookies are baking.

Bake for 8 to 10 mins until edges start to turn golden brown.

Cool on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Oat-nana-tella Muffins

I am the worst blogger of all time. Between planning for our new house, and juggling working overtime and the gym, I have not had a lot of time for baking lately, or even cooking.I saw this recipe TODAY and knew immediately that I had to try it. I always have bananas in the freezer, and I bought a jar of nutella a long time ago for some kind of baking project, and also just to reminisce about that week so long ago that I spend in Paris. They eat a lot of nutella in Europe, at least in Paris. Nutella crepes are delicious. I’m still working on my master plan to bring crepe stands to Canada!

Anyways, back to the muffins..I have dubbed them Oat-nana-tella Muffins…Oatmeal, Banana, Nutella! They are pretty healthy, at least as healthy as muffins can be. Haven’t you seen that nutella commercial? Nutella is good for you! How do they jam billions of hazelnuts into one jar? I’m not sure, but the commercial says they do so it must be true!

 

The original recipe says you can use oat bran or quick cooking oatmeal. I don’t have oat bran, so oatmeal it is. I like the texture that oatmeal brings to the cupcake. When I was little my mom always used to make those oatmeal chocolate chip muffins that you make from a little bag of muffin mix at the grocery store. Those were the best!! The texture of these remind me of those.

For any muffin recipe the procedure is pretty much the same, mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients, and then combine. Once they are combined, be really careful to only mix it as little as needed. As soon as there are no streaks of flour, you’re done. There is no need for a hand mixer with muffins, get out the wooden spoon and work those muscles! I had to bake them for 15 mins for them to be fully cooked, but your oven may be different so keep your eye on them!

I also used half whole wheat flour (only because I ran out, I would have used all whole wheat if I had it). Honestly, you won’t even know it’s whole wheat. I do a lot of my baking with whole wheat flour. If you’ve ever had cookies made by me, chances are they were made with whole wheat flour. Its almost undetectible in lots of things. I definitely admit that it can’t be used for everything, but try using half whole wheat, half all purpose to start, and see how you like it. I also just realized that I completely forget to add the vanilla when I made these, but they are still pretty good.

In the end, they were pretty good…I wish the nutella flavour came out a little bit more, but it could have been because I ate one when it was piping hot, and flavours always develop more once it cools…I couldn’t help it!

Oat-nana-tella Muffins

Adapted from Baking Bites

Makes 8 muffins

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp canola oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 med.)
3 tbsp Nutella
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375F. Line 8 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oatmeal, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together canola oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, mashed banana, Nutella and buttermilk until very smooth.

 Pour into dry mixture and stir just until combined. Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin tin.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove muffins from tin and cool on a wire rack before serving. Store in an airtight container when cool

My Favourite Granola

Ola!

 Today I thought it was time for a more health conscious recipe. It sounds like it won’t be very much fun, I know…but trust me, this one is really really good! While storebought granola is very delicious, it is full of added sugars and ingredients that nobody has ever heard of. I found this recipe on the Cooking Light website and I thought it looked pretty good. I have a subscription to Cooking Light and every single recipe I’ve made from them has been amazing. Honestly, a lot of ‘healthy’ recipes are not that great, and just taking out all the high fat, sugar ingredients leaves you with nothing, and the results definitely show this. However, a lot of the recipes from Cooking Light are really good, and they do manage to make them more healthy them as much as possible.

Back to granola, I’ve made this recipe a few times and each time I find another way to make it better. This recipe is great because you can customize it as much or as little as you like. I usually use whatever nuts or dried fruit I have on hand, and you can also add coconut or chocolate chips at the end if you like!

We like to eat this over yogourt, mixed in with cereal or just for a snack on its own! It doesn’t last very long around here, so I should probably start making double batches!

I’ve adapted the recipe from the Cooking Light original by reducing the brown sugar to 1/8 cup and increasing the baking temperature. I found that baking it at 300 degrees as the recipe suggests left it a little too soft. Keep a close eye on it when its baking because it can turn very dark brown very quickly…I learned this the hard way, although the granola is still good, just a little toasty :). The baking times are really up to you and up to your preference on how crunchy you want it to be in the end.

Granola

adapted from Cooking Light

Preheat oven to 315 degrees

• 2 cups rolled oats (I recommend using the large flake, but quick oats will work too)
• 1/3 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3cup honey
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup dried fruit

Combine first four ingredients in a medium sized bowl

Combine orange juice, honey and brown sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat on the stove, stirring frequently until sugar is dissolved

Remove honey mixture from heat and stir in canola oil and vanilla

Pour honey mixture over dry ingredients and mix to coat

Spread on a baking sheet in a thin layer

Bake for 10-15 mins, stir well to flip granola

Bake for 10-15 additional minutes

Stir in dried fruit if desired

Store in an airtight container

Triple Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Hello!

It has been a long time since I’ve posted anything here, which is not good! We have been so busy the past few weeks, time has just flown by. Things have calmed down and we have finalized everything for our new house (!!!!!!), so I should get my life back to normal now! Anyways, I made these cookies a few weeks ago and I was very very impressed.

 I made a trip to the Lindt outlet store here in Ottawa, and was able to find Ghiardelli Cocoa Powder which is something I have looked for and been 100% unsuccessful in finding in Canada! They also had Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips, but I didnt splurge for those…yet! Sometimes I get frustrated at the lack of quality baking products available in Canada, and specifically in Ottawa. So when I found this, I was beyond ecstatic, and immediately started searching my recipes for something to make with it!

I thought the idea of a double chocolate chip cookie with oatmeal sounded good, and I threw in some white chocolate chips which I still had hanging around from some Christmas baking. The results were sooo delicious…I want to say that the good quality cocoa powder made a difference, but  I have never made these cookies with any other cocoa powder, so I can’t be sure. But I like to reassure myself that this purchase was well worth the investment!

These cookies almost tasted like little brownies, they were very chocolatey, but so good, and I couldnt stop eating them (which is pretty much the norm with any cookies, but I’m serious, these ones were really good!!!).

I tend to have a hard time straying from the traditional chocolate chip cookie because I know it is reliable, and it is always delicious, but I am glad I tried these ones out and they are even healthy because they have oatmeal….right?! Anything with oatmeal qualifies as breakfast in my books……haha.

Let me also tell you about how much I looooooooove my cookie scoop. I sent my Mom on a wild goose chase for this cookie scoop at Christmas and of course she found it for me! It’s the OXO Medium sized cookie scoop, and honestly, I don’t know how I made cookies without it before. Each cookie is the same size, and comes out shaped relatively well. It also makes the cookie scooping process so quick and easy! Less time spent scooping cookies onto tray = more time spent eating cookies! The OXO scoop runs around $20, and there are definitely some cheaper options out there, but I would highly recommend this one.

Everytime I sit down to write a post here, I tell myself I will keep it short and get to the point, but somehow I always end up blabbing for a few extra paragraphs….I guess there was a reason I could write a 12 page essay in a few hours (I do not recommend this! hehe). So without further ado, here is the recipe:

Triple Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup chocolate chips ( I used half white half semi-sweet

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

1. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in oats and chocolate chipes, mix well.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies are almost set. Cool 1 minute on cookies sheets, then move to wire racks. .