Oatmeal Cookie Muffins

A few weeks ago in my Friday Favorite Finds, I shared a delicious looking recipe for cinnamon chocolate chip muffins. 

This idea inspired me to capture the flavor of oatmeal chocolate raisin cookies in a muffin – only replacing the raisins with dried cherries because that makes everything better. 

We made these muffins using entirely applesauce, and they were great & very moist, but more dense than a typical muffin.  You can certainly make them that way, but I recommend using 2 T applesauce and 3 T melted better to get the combination just right.  This should add some fluff but not all the calories from using 5 T melted butter. 

Oatmeal Cookie Muffins – Inspired by Sweet Tooth

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C oats
• 1/2 T baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 T applesauce
• 3 T melted butter (or additional applesauce)
• 1/3 C honey (or 1/2 C brown sugar)
• 1 egg
• 3/4 C Greek yogurt
• 1/4 C dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 C dried cherries (optional)

Directions

Begin by combining 1 1/2 C white whole wheat flour with 1/2 C oats, 1/2 T baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. cinnamon.  Stir well. 

In the same bowl, pour in 2 T applesauce (you can use up to 5 T – if you do, omit the butter), 3 T melted butter, 3/4 C Greek yogurt, 1/3 C honey and 1 egg. 

Lightly mix the egg before mixing the entire batch of wet ingredients together with the dry ones. 

The batter you’ve made will be quite thick.  However, it' shouldn’t be a large ball of batter – it should be pliable and scoopable {is that even a word?!}.  If it’s too tough, add milk, 1 T at a time until you have a batter.  {The grind of your wheat flour as well as the yogurt can contribute to variations in the final consistency of the dough!}

Stir in chocolate chips, or raisins, or dried cherries, or toss them all for fun. 

Fill 12 muffins tins 3/4 of the way full.  If desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar for a topping. 

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. 

Makes 12 muffins, or 6 jumbo muffins.