Oatmeal Crumble Muffins

Circle B Kitchen

Adapted from a recipe by Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks

These are the most amazingly delicious muffins...moist, flavorful and very low in fat. The original recipe from 101 Cookbooks called for almost a whole cup of butter, and I thought that made them rather heavy and masked the oatmeal flavor I was looking for. So I omitted the butter and substituted 1/4 cup of coconut oil and a little over 1/2 cup of applesauce. The resulting muffin is light, fluffy and full of oatmeal flavor. Soooo good!

Crumble topping:

3/4 cup flour (I used ½ cup all purpose flour and ¼ cup whole wheat flour)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/3 cup butter, melted

Muffin batter:

1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)

1 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour (I used 1 cup A-P flour and ½ cup white whole

wheat flour

1/2 - 3/4 cup raisins

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/4 cup coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted

½ cup unsweetened applesauce (I used just a little over 1/2 cup)

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ cups plain yogurt

2 large eggs, whisked

Preheat oven to 350F

For the crumble topping:

Use a fork to combine the flour, oats, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Divide the mixture into three portions, and use your hands to form into three flat-ish patties. Place the patties on a plate in the freezer for about ten minutes.

Grease a standard-sized muffin tin with cooking spray or butter.

For the muffins:

In a medium bowl combine the oats, flours, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.

Melt the coconut oil or butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Whisk in the yogurt, applesauce, and then the eggs. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and add the raisins, stirring just until combined. Do your best to avoid over mixing.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Pull the crumble from the freezer and break it up into small and medium pieces. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with the crumble, place the muffins in the oven and bake 30 - 35 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool just a minute or so, then turn out onto a cooling rack.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.