Back when the world was still flat, and I was still immortal I made money babysitting afterschool. One day the mom asked me to prepare these muffins with her kids while she was out. I did, and was really impressed by how yummy they were. When I got home that night I quickly copied the recipe from memory onto a 3 by 5-index card and placed it in my new, metal, recipe card file. An aunt had given it to me for my birthday and I felt quite grown up copying down the recipes I found. This is one of the very first recipes to go into that file and I still have it, copied in my childish handwriting. I’ve made scores of these muffins since that first time and it continues to be one of my favorite recipes of all time.
Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats or dry oatmeal
- 1/2 cup sour milk OR regular milk combined with 1-teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup brown or white sugar
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Directions
Combine the rolled oats and sour milk in a medium-sized bowl. Allow it to sit for a few minutes while you measure the other ingredients. This allows the rolled oats to soak up some of the milk. You can let it sit for as long as half an hour if you like. Add the egg, sugar and oil to the rolled oats. Beat well. Add the flour, salt and baking powder. Beat again, until everything is moistened and you have a lumpy batter.
Oil 6-muffin cups or rub them with solid vegetable shortening. If you don’t have a muffin tin you could also use an 8-inch round cake pan. Make sure you grease it either way. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups or into your cake pan. Bake at 400° for about 20-minutes. Serve hot for breakfast or as a hot bread with a meal.
If you are serving these for breakfast or a snack, you can add 1/4-cup of raisins or a small apple, that has been chopped into pieces about the size of raisins. Spread with peanut butter, a couple of these muffins plus a glass of milk makes a nourishing and filling breakfast.