Showing posts with label baking for kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking for kids. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Oatmeal Muffins



The recipe comes from the cookbook that we worked with in my first cooking class, in 1979: “Recipes for Young Cooks” by Carole Fitzgerald. Honestly, I have made this recipe so many times since then that I know by it heart, and I also know by heart that it is on page 42 of the book I saved all this time. I think it is the only thing I still make from that book, but once you taste them, you will see why I am still making them on a regular basis! Not too sweet, just the right weight; they are heavenly. Kids tend to like them, and are also able to make them from the simple recipe, which is drawn out as a pictogram rather than as a traditional recipe. My daughter, who is 5, can do almost every step (with supervision of course!) and they come out perfectly. Better, I must add, than the one time I made them using peanut oil when my mom was out of vegetable oil and I didn’t yet know the difference and could not figure out why they tasted “off”… (OK I can only have been about 8 at the time, and I do consider baking a much better hobby for latch-key kids than mere TV watching.)

I usually make this (since I am nearly a middle-aged adult!) with half whole-wheat flour and half white, but being out of whole-wheat today, I made it strictly according to the recipe. And what a can’t-fail treat! I have no idea how many times I have passed this recipe on to friends, and am delighted to do so here as well. Whip up a batch today (really, it is quick and doesn’t even require a mixer) and enjoy the brown sugar-laced, high fiber goodness of these muffins that I have enjoyed steadily for 30 years.

OATMEAL MUFFINS:

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup oil
1 egg
½ cup brown sugar

• mix the oatmeal and milk in a big bowl, let soak
• sift the dry ingredients together in a smaller bowl
• add egg, oil and brown sugar to the oatmeal mix
• add the flour mix to the oatmeal mix; stir. Batter will be lumpy
• grease cupcake tray or use paper fillers; fill each ½ way with batter
• bake at 350 degrees for 25 min
• cool and serve warm