Overnight Oatmeal Muffins

These muffins will fit in just about anywhere in your day - grab a couple for an on-the-go breakfast, as a mid-morning snack, with a cup of tea in the afternoon, or - because they're not too sweet - in place of rolls at dinner time.  I found apple juice-sweetened dried blueberries from the company International Harvest.  If you can't find dried blueberries, use any dried fruit in their place, or skip the dried fruit all together.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup regular oats
• 2 cups vegan buttermilk*
• 1 and 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup packed vegan brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Ener-G eggs
• 2/3 cup dried blueberries
• Cooking spray

1. Combine the oats and buttermilk in a large bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to overnight.

2. Lightly spoon the whole wheat flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife.  Place the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the buttermilk mixture, brown sugar, canola oil, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and Ener-G eggs; beat at medium speed until blended.  Fold in the dried blueberries.

3. Divide the batter evenly among 24 muffin cups coated with cooking spray - it will work out to a little less than 1/4 cup batter per muffin.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes - the muffins should spring back when touched lightly in the center.

4. Transfer the muffins immediately to a wire rack to cool.

*To make the vegan buttermilk, place 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.  Fill with plain non-dairy milk to equal 2 cups.  Let stand about 5 minutes to let the mixture clabber (sour), then proceed with the recipe directions.

Nutrition Info:
24 servings (1 muffin), Calories 105 

Tasting Notes:
As I said in my intro, a great all-purpose muffin.  You could definitely taste the "healthy" flavors of whole wheat and oats.  I was actually surprised at the dry texture of the muffins, since the whole reason to soak the oats in the vegan buttermilk is to wind up with a creamy texture.  Since I only soaked the oats for 8 hours, I would give them longer next time.  Using fresh blueberries might also make the muffins moister, but with that said, I enjoyed the concentrated flavor of the small dried blueberries.

Rating:
3