Magic Oatmeal Muffins

When I was a kid, my mom made oatmeal muffins all the time, from an old, old paperback cookbook.  I can picture the recipe in my mind with the tiny sketches of wheat and oats above it on the page.  It became a Ginny Vander Hey tradition, and our family could eat a batch in a day.  Not much has changed... my family can eat these in a day or two as well.

Since my son has an egg allergy, I have learned to be creative about egg substitutions and have done quite of bit of experimenting.   For some recipes, it's easy.  For others, trial and error are required.  In this case, I stumbled across the idea to substitute about 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (Fage brand, in particular) for the one egg called for in the recipe.  Everything else in the original recipe remained the same; then I added a splash of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon to make them perfect.

These muffins are very popular at my son's school, and my friend Jolyn and I take turns leaving them on each others' doorsteps when we make them.  I get a text that says "Delivery!" and I open the door to a little bag of fresh muffins.  That's love.

So here is my recipe... I hope you love it as much as we do!   (And bonus for nursing mamas: oatmeal is great for you and baby, and this is a good way to incorporate it). 

MAGIC OATMEAL MUFFINS  (Watch them disappear...)
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Mix in a medium bowl:
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
A few dashes of cinnamon

Whisk together until blended well.  Add:
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup Greek yogurt (you may use 1 egg instead, but the yogurt keeps it moist for longer)
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

Mix well until the lumps are smoothed out.  Gently fold in:
1 cup flour
Trust me, you will want to fold the flour in as gently as you can, only until just moistened.  Overmixing makes dense, gummy muffins.

Fill greased muffins cups about 1/2 full and bake for 20 minutes (15 minutes for mini-muffins).  Watch closely, as they are best before they get to the golden brown stage.  When they are just set, they're perfect.  Let them sit in the muffin tin for a few minutes and then pop out.

Enjoy!