OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS, ADAPTED

When I made Quaker Oats’ Prize-Winning Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins with Chocolate Streusel I thought there could never be another oatmeal cc muffin to get my top rating. But this one comes very close. Kari Farwell submitted this fabulous recipe to Allrecipes, and the readers rated it 4-1/2 stars. Even with my lower-fat, part whole-grain version, these muffins are still moist, tender, flavorful, full of chocolate chips, with a nice crunch from the walnuts and just a hint of spice from the cinnamon in the topping. Soaking the oats in the milk for 15 minutes before mixing the batter is a crucial step in developing the tender crumb and light texture of the muffin. You’ll get 12 standard-size muffins, and any that are left can be frozen and microwaved for a quick snack or treat.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins Adapted from Allrecipes Rating: 9.5 out of 10 Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS: 1-1/4 cups quick-cooking oats 1-1/4 cups milk (I used 3/4 cup milk + 1/2 cup lite sour cream) 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used Ultra-Grain) 4 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. sea salt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, divided use 1 large egg 2 Tbsp. oil 1/2 cup applesauce 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided use 1 tsp. cinnamon 1. Combine oats and milk in large bowl and allow to stand 15 minutes. Heat oven to 425F. Spray the wells of a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. 2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup nuts in medium bowl. 3. Beat egg, oil, applesauce, vanilla and 1/2 cup brown sugar into the oats and milk mixture. Add the dry ingredients, all at once, stirring just till barely combined, leaving a few lumps, if any. Do not overmix. 4. Fill each of the 12 muffin wells about 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with the remaining brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon. Place muffin tin in oven and immediately reduce heat to 375F. Bake 17-20 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted near center returns almost clean. Cool in pans about 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling. Yield: 12 standard-size muffins

PRIZE-WINNING OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS WITH CHOCOLATE STREUSEL

I found this recipe on the Quaker Oats website. It was their 8th Annual Grand Prize Winner, so I figured it had to be good.  I followed the recipe pretty closely -- only subbing white whole wheat flour and adding walnuts to the topping; and adding vanilla to the muffin. These muffins are amazing. Thanks to the oats, they're light; and the buttermilk, oil and honey provide moistness, tenderness and exceptional flavor. Sometimes honey can overpower other ingredients, and I was out of mild clover honey. All I had was raw mountain honey. But the finished muffin tastes wonderful -- the honey is not the predominant taste at all.  The topping is interesting -- the little cocoa balls that form when you mix the topping become crunchy nuggets of chocolate when baked; and, along with the walnuts, are your first introduction to this muffin. Then your teeth sink into the moist and delicate crumb inside and the warm, melted chocolate chips. By all means, try this recipe soon. You'll be
glad you did.

Prize Winning Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins with Chocolate Streusel

Adapted from quakeroats.com

Rating: 10 out of 10
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INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup broken raw walnuts

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup quick oats, uncooked

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used Hershey's Special Dark)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

Heat oven to 400F. Spray 12 muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray.

For streusel, combine sugar, whole wheat flour, cocoa and melted butter in small bowl. Stir with fork till all particles are moistened. Little cocoa balls will form from part of the mixture. Stir in the walnuts; set aside.

For muffins, in large bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, oats, chocolate chips, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, honey, oil, vanilla and egg, beating till well combined. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir with spoon or spatula just till dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix.

Fill muffin cups almost full. Sprinkle with reserved streusel, pressing it in gently. Place muffins in oven and immediately reduce heat to 325F. Bake 20-22 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted near center returns with just a few crumbs. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling. Serve warm. Yield: 12 standard-size muffins

Note: If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute 2/3 cup milk blended with 2 tsp. white or cider vinegar.

FAT-FREE ZUCCHINI-CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

You can find the original version of this recipe on the
allrecipes.com website with all the stellar reviews. I halved it and used whole-wheat pastry flour and bread flour, instead of all-purpose. I doubled the chocolate, but used a chopped Hershey's bar with almonds instead of chocolate chips. And, lastly, I took out the oil and used my homemade applesauce instead. A little sprinkle of cocoa, cinnamon and sugar on the tops is a nice finish, not in the original version. The somewhat brownish color of the muffin is, I think, from the chopped Hershey's. (When you chop a Hershey's bar, you get some very small pieces which probably melt as the muffin bakes. Mixed with the cinnamon, it produces a brownish muffin.) Although there's fat in the Hershey's bar and, technically, some fat in the egg yolk and whole-wheat flour, the muffin is virtually fat-free with no oil or butter. And, amazingly, the muffin is still very moist. It's also tender and delicious with just a hint of cinnamon and a hint of chocolate, and it's not overly sweet -- just right, I think. This is a good recipe, one that I would make again.

Fat-Free Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Rating: 7 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:

Topping:

1/2 tsp. cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

big pinch ginger

1 tsp. sugar

In small cup or dish, combine all ingredients, mixing well. Set aside.

Muffins:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used 1/4 cup bread flour + 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour)

1/4 + 1/8 cup sugar (I used 3/4 tsp. Stevia for the 1/8 cup sugar)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used 1/4 cup chopped Hershey's with almonds)

2 Tbsp. toasted chopped pecans

1/2 cup shredded, then finely chopped, zucchini, packed

1/2 large egg (separate white and yolk and measure half of each)

1/4 cup applesauce

2 Tbsp. milk

1-1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. pure vanila extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 6-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk first 5 ingredients together (dry ingredients) till well combined. Add chocolate, pecans and zucchini and whisk till well distributed.

In small bowl, whisk remaining ingredients till well combined and smooth. Stir into dry ingredients with spatula or spoon, mixing only till barely combined. Distribute batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin top with some of the topping. Bake 18-22 minutes, or till toothpick inserted near center returns clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes, then turn muffins out onto wire rack to finish cooling., or serve immediately. Yield: 6 muffins.

DAVID'S CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

My son, David, has been baking again. This is his muffin recipe, and he says they're delicious! These are made with mini-chocolate chips, but you can use any kind of chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate that you want. Of course, the quality of chocolate used makes the biggest difference in the finished product, so go for the best you can afford. If I make these muffins, I'll sub applesauce for most of the butter, and fat-free half and half for the full-fat stuff. And I might switch out some of the flour for white whole wheat, trying to make the most nutritious and low-fat dessert possible. I can't rate these until/unless I taste them, and David lives almost 4 hours away; but they do look good, and I will tell you that David is pretty picky. Please leave a comment if you make them. We'd love to have your rating on this recipe.


David's Chocolate Chip Muffins
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/3 Cup light brown sugar
1/3 Cup white sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
2/3 cup half and half
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 12oz. package chocolate chips

Melt butter in large microwaveable mixing bowl; add both sugars, mix until combined.
Add eggs and H&H, mixing well. In separate bowl, combine flour, chocolate chips, baking powder, and salt, making sure they are mixed well. Pour flour mix into liquids, stirring to barely combine ingredients. Batter can be lumpy. DO NOT OVERMIX. Spoon in muffin tins to top rim. Bake @400F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center returns with a few crumbs. Makes 12 standard muffins with beautiful tops.

David's Tips: I usually have to add extra liquid to get the consistency I like for the muffins.
The type of chocolate chip will make your muffin. Experiment with semi-sweet, and milk chocolate. When you figure out which type of chocolate to use, then experiment with brands of chocolate. I prefer Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. For good baking, it is recomended that you do not use anything that is no stick.

CHERRY-CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

I've been thinking about muffins again. Not just any muffins, though. My dreams were of moist sour-cream muffins with dried cherries soaked in creme de cocoa, chocolate chips and a streusel topping. Those kind of muffins. Food & Wine Magazine had an interesting recipe in their March 2001 publication ("Cranberry Muffins with Walnut Crumb Topping") and I decided to use it for my base recipe, adapting it to a lower-fat, lower-sugar version with cherries and chocolate chips instead of the cranberries. The muffins came out really, really good, with just enough cherries in ratio to the chocolate chips, except that the baking temps were off. Food & Wine recommended baking at 425F for 20 minutes. In 12 minutes, my muffins were done, and my oven runs "true." Either their oven was way off, or they never made this recipe. Even at 12 minutes, the tops of the muffins burned and the sides were a little bit too brown. I usually bake my muffins in a preheated 500F oven and as soon as I put them in, I reduce the heat to 350F. I've never burned a muffin (top, bottom or side) using that technique. Here's my recipe:

Cherry-Chocolate Chip Muffins
INGREDIENTS:
Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup white whole wheat or regular whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
4-1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, divided use
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Muffins: 2 cups bleached all-purpose flour (I used White Lily)
1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/4 cup sugar + 1-1/2 tsp. Stevia)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup lite sour cream
1 extra-large egg
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. chocolate flavoring (or 1 tsp. creme de cocoa)
heaping 1/2 cup dried cherries soaked in 1/3 cup hot creme de cocoa and drained
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 500F. Spray cups of a 12-cup nonstick muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Make the crumb topping: In a small bowl, combine flour with sugars, baking powder and salt. Stir in 3 Tbsp. melted butter, reserving 1-1/2 Tbsp. for the muffin batter. Add the walnuts and pinch the topping mixture into clumps. Set aside.

Make the muffins: In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk the sour cream with the egg, applesauce, vanilla and chocolate flavoring and the reserved 1-1/2 Tbsp. melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and lightly combine (just barely--don't overmix and don't get all the lumps out.) Add the drained cherries and the chocolate chips and lightly fold them in. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin cup, then top with about 1 Tbsp. crumb topping, patting the topping into the muffin batter so it adheres. Put muffins in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350F. Bake for 14-17 minutes, or till muffins test done when a toothpick inserted in center returns almost clean. Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Yield: 12 standard-size muffins

TIP: Don't throw out the creme de cocoa from the drained cherries. Save it for your next baking project. Put some more cherries in it and let them soak. The longer the better. hic