Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

I love my whole wheat muffins recipes, but I also like the grainy flavor that oatmeal brings to baked goods. It has a unique, earthy flavor which reminds one of fields of grain. It also pairs very well with fruit and spices, so I wanted to create a fairly basic oatmeal muffin recipe from which I can experiment with variations in the future.

This is the second iteration of cinnamon oatmeal muffins that I worked with. The first version included a sugar-free crumble topping which added a nice dimension, but wasn't all that I had hoped that it would be and it added about 50 calories per muffin. I decided that the small enjoyment brought by the topping wasn't worth the caloric price and omitted it in this final recipe. However, I hope to work a bit more with the basic topping components and come up with something in a future recipe.

On the bright side, I have found that using oats to substitute for some of the whole wheat flour makes a lighter muffin with a pleasantly texture. You can leave out the cinnamon if you'd like to pair it with a fruit spread which doesn't go well with that particular spice.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins (low-fat, sugar-free, whole grain):

1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 medium egg
3/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup Splenda granular
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

1. Spray the bottoms only of 6 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Add the vinegar to the skim milk and allow to rest.
3. Put the oats in a large bowl and add applesauce, egg, milk and vinegar, salt, Splenda, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg. Stir until well mixed.
4. Sprinkle the whole wheat flour onto the oat mixture and gently stir to just moisten. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the baking powder and stir just until well mixed. Don't overwork the flour or the muffins will be tough.
6. Spoon or pour into the prepared tins and bake at 2000 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
7. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and run a butter knife around the edges of the tin to loosen the muffins. Gently tap the bottom if they stick.