Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Recently I searched for a new healthy blueberry muffin recipe, and this one looked appealing.  It did not disappoint!  So many muffin recipes are more like a disguised cupcake, with things like blueberries thrown in to make it look healthy.  But these, I actually feel good about giving my kids for breakfast!  Enjoy!

Recipe Source: Cooking Light, August 2010

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
Printable version here

1 2/3 cups quick-cooking oats
3 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2/3 cup)
2.33 ounces whole-wheat flour (about 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (5.3 ounces)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp. grated lemon rind (from one small lemon)
2 large eggs
2 cups frozen blueberries
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. granulated sugar (or a cinnamon/sugar mixture)

1. Preheat oven to 400º.

2. Place oats in a food processor; pulse 5 to 6 times or until oats resemble coarse meal.  Place in a large bowl.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Add flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) to oats; stir well.  Make a well in center of mixture.

4. Combine buttermilk and next 3 ingredients (through eggs).  Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.

5. Toss berries with 2 tablespoons flour, and gently fold into batter.  Scoop batter into 18 muffin cups coated with nonstick spray. (I use a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop that's filled a little over the top, so probably close to 1/4 cup) Sprinkle tops with either sugar or a cinnamon/sugar mixture (I keep some in a shaker container).  Bake at 400º for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center.  Remove from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.  Store in a covered container at room temperature for up to a couple days, or refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.

NOTES

• I've only ever made this exactly as written, but I'm sure you could make slight changes to it and it would still turn out well.  Such as: substituting the all-purpose flour for wheat, omitting the lemon zest (or replacing it with orange zest), using fresh blueberries instead of frozen, and using buttermilk substitute instead of buttermilk (this explains how to).
• As I only have one regular muffin pan, I had to bake a dozen of these muffins, wash the pan, and then bake 6 more.  Sometime I might scale this recipe down to equal a dozen, but we like them so much that I don't mind the hassle of washing the pan in between batches!

Why I love it? They are hearty without being dense, flavorful (I love the blueberries & hint of lemon!), and decently healthy!  The large batch size lets me feed my family of 5 and still have some leftover to freeze.