Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins

Christmas is in less than 2 weeks, how did this happen?!  Where did the year go?  I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot lately.  With the baby only 3 weeks behind that, I start to feel a little overwhelmed at times.  When that happens, I get in my kitchen and I bake.  Sure, it’s probably not always a good idea to shove off responsibilities in the name of delicious treats, but sometimes it just works.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, add these muffins to your list the next time you’re partaking in a little kitchen therapy.  They are so easy to assemble and absolutely delicious.  They are perfect for a quick, homemade breakfast, but they also make a nice snack to keep on hand during the day.  If you have guests coming into town for the holidays, add this one to your arsenal for breakfast one morning- I promise you will not be disappointed.  One reason I love these so much is because I usually have all of the ingredients in my pantry.  Another is that because they come together so easily, they make me think twice about using pre-packaged muffin mixes that contain all kinds of who-knows-what kind of ingredients (side note, if you use those, no judgement here at all.)  🙂

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup old fashions oats, plus more for sprinkling

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans or other nut of your choice (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375*F, line or grease a standard muffin tin and set aside
• Mix flour, oats, baking powder and salt in a small bowl until combined and set aside
• In a large bowl, whisk butter and brown sugar together until smooth
• Add peanut butter, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar, whisk to combine
• Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined, making sure there is no more dry flour, do not over mix
• Fold in chocolate chips and pecans
• Spoon into muffin tin, filling the cups 3/4 full
• Sprinkle with additional oats
• Bake for 17-20 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
• Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely (if you can wait that long!)

I hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas!

-Ashley