Every Sunday I meal-prep, and every Sunday I make something the twins can grab on busy mornings. For the last month, it has been these muffins. They are soft, not too sweet, packed with oats and pumpkin, and they freeze beautifully. Theo, who currently believes anything orange is suspicious, eats two.
They are also the most on-brand thing I could possibly make for this blog. Pumpkin and maple in October. I am aware.
Why these work for us
Most muffin recipes are basically cake, which is fine for a treat but not what I want to hand my eighteen-month-olds at 7 a.m. before I run out the door to work. These use maple syrup instead of white sugar, a good amount of oats, and a whole can of pumpkin. They hold together well enough for little hands, and they do not crumble into a million pieces in the car seat. Well, not a million. Maybe a few hundred.
I make the full batch in regular size for Dan and me and a batch of mini muffins for the kids. The mini ones are just the right size for a toddler snack.
Ingredients
Makes 12 regular muffins or about 30 mini muffins.
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (or half whole wheat)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup melted butter or neutral oil
- 1/4 cup milk (any kind)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional: 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, raisins, or chopped walnuts for the grown-up batch
Steps
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper liners. For minis, grease a mini muffin tin really well, since they like to stick.
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- In a second bowl, or a big measuring cup if you want fewer dishes, whisk the pumpkin, eggs, maple syrup, melted butter, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. A few streaks of flour are fine. Overmixing makes them tough.
- Let the batter rest for 10 minutes. This lets the oats soften a little and gives you softer muffins. I use this time to wipe down the counter and pull a toddler off the step stool.
- If you are using mix-ins, fold them in now. I usually split the batter and add chocolate chips to the half that is for us.
- Scoop the batter into the tin, filling each cup almost to the top. The muffins do not rise a ton.
- Bake regular muffins for 20 to 23 minutes, or minis for 11 to 14 minutes, until the tops spring back and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack to cool completely.
Storing and freezing
They keep on the counter in an airtight container for two days, or in the fridge for about five. For freezing, I lay them out on a sheet pan to freeze for an hour, then move them into a freezer bag. They last about three months, though ours never make it that long.
To reheat, I microwave a frozen mini muffin for about 15 seconds, or just pull a couple out the night before and let them thaw on the counter. By morning they are ready.
A few notes from our kitchen
- If your kids are under one, check with your pediatrician about maple syrup, honey, and other sweeteners. Ours were well past that when I started making these.
- You can swap the eggs for flax eggs if you need to. They come out a little denser but still good.
- Leftover pumpkin from another recipe? Use 1 1/2 cups and you are close enough.
- June likes hers split in half with a thin smear of cream cheese. Theo likes his whole and eats the top first. Dan eats three standing at the counter and says he is "testing them."
If you make these, let me know how it goes. And if your toddler also has a vendetta against orange foods, I hope this is the recipe that changes their mind.
