Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins

As Heather mentioned last week, it's strawberry season here in Florida, so they are plentiful (and cheap) in the stores. When they hit 3 pounds for $5 last week, I got three and then found myself needing to use them up before they went bad. I had found this recipe for strawberry muffins and decided to try them because I was intrigued by the idea of using an oatmeal base rather than flour, which also makes them gluten-free.

I try to avoid artificial sweeteners so I decided to experiment with substituting honey. I also had vanilla whole milk yogurt in the house and no Greek yogurt, so I used that. Side note: in recounting this, I'm reminding myself of my great-aunt Leola, now 105, a notorious recipe-tinkerer who would ask someone for a recipe, then change every ingredient in some way and lament that hers tasted nothing like the original. Runs in the family, I guess.

To start, you will dice two cups of strawberries (1/2 cup of these will be reserved for the top of the muffins) 

Next, add all of your ingredients to the food processor except for the strawberries. Process until everything is smooth. 

Remove from food processor and fold in 1 1/2 cups of strawberries. 

Divide among twelve muffin tins (*see note) and sprinkle the extra 1/2 cup of strawberries on top. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

These were a huge hit. The boys all loved them and Corbie said, "These taste like oatmeal!" He loves oatmeal, so that's a compliment. I have to say that the oatmeal makes a denser muffin than flour. I liked them just fine and actually think less crumbs is a plus when feeding small children. I also think that made them freeze and reheat a little better than most muffins. The chopped strawberries on top really up the strawberry flavor and they just taste like summer (or late winter if you happen to live in Florida). 

Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins 

3 cups old-fashioned oats 

1 cup vanilla yogurt 

2 eggs 

1/4 cup honey 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp lemon juice 

2 cups strawberries, divided

1. Preheat oven to 400. 

2. Add all ingredients except strawberries to food processor and process until smooth.

3. Fold in 1 1/2 cups strawberries. Divide mixture among 12 muffin tins.
*Note: the original recipe mentions that these do not work well in paper liners and may stick. I use silicone muffin tins and they didn't stick at all. (That's an affiliate link, BTW.)

4. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.