Oatmeal Banana Raisin Choco Chip Muffins

It was a rainy Saturday morning and the baker in me suddenly got anxious to try something new and interesting. As luck would have it, I did not have an interesting stock in my pantry to follow any particular recipe. Though not an expert, I would not tag myself as a newbie in baking and so decided to put my experience into use and experiment some muffins for my breakfast. My husband was a little skeptical and so he chose to eat out while I continued with my blind bake. I had some sachets of unopened flavored oats which I had bought for my baby and which she never had. Probably, the packets were destined to be used this way. I wanted something light and healthy and without any guilt and the result was exactly what I was looking for. Soft and light oatmeal muffins which are a perfect breakfast companion to start your day. A happy baker I am today!

Ingredients

1/2 cup flavored quick cooking oats (you can use unflavored as well)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

Scant 1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup skimmed milk

2 eggs

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 ripe banana mashed

Handful of raisins (add as per your wish)

Handful of choco chips (add as per your wish)

Whole almonds for garnishing (optional; I used candied almonds I had prepared previously)

Direction

Pre-heat the oven and line a muffin tray with paper cups.

In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, and sugar. Add the oil and vanilla essence and beat further. Add the mashed banana and mix. Using an electric beater helps you save some time here. Now add the oats and flour along with the baking powder. Mix everything well to a smooth batter. Fold in the raisins and choco chips. The batter will be a tad thinner than the regular cake batter. Pour into the prepared muffin cups upto 1/3 of each cup. Gently place  an almond on top of each cup and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 mins at 180 degree celsius until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I baked for an additional 5 minutes at 200 degree celsius for a golden top once the muffins were cooked. You get about 7 muffins with this recipe and can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Warm up in the microwave before each serving.