Oatmeal Breakfast Cups

When I'm coming up with a muffin flavor to get inspiration I try to think about what season we're in. Summer is coming to an end, but it's not yet Fall. Do you know what season it is? It's Back to School season! I remember loving back to school season when I was a kid. The tv commercials, the rows and rows of school supplies at the store, and all of the new clothing that is perfect to wear when the weather starts changing. In Israel, the weather won't start changing until October, but it's still Back to School season here. The supermarket's seasonal display is back to school items and the lamp posts have banners hung by the municipality wishing everyone a successful school year.

School starts tomorrow and after the crazy past few months, we've had, many of you will be going back to a somewhat normal schedule. I'm sure it's going to be very different than what we're used to as I've heard many kids are going to be having zoom school or going to school some days, but at home on the others. Whatever school schedule you have there's still school, which means there isn't so much time in the morning for lazy breakfasts that many of us have grown accustomed to these past few months. 

Whether you're looking for an easy breakfast on the go for your kids running off to school or for yourself to munch on during your next office zoom meeting that could have been done over email these oatmeal breakfast cups are perfect for you! 

These muffins bake at a lower temperature and for longer than the usual muffins because the oats need time to cook and soften. 

Oatmeal Breakfast Cups 

3 cups instant or old fashioned oats* 

1 tsp baking powder 

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 1/4 cups milk of your choice 

1/4 cup silan/honey/maple syrup

2 eggs 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

3 Tbs peanut butter 

2 small bananas smashed - about 1/2 cup 

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips 

1 banana thinly sliced for garnish (optional)

 

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C

Line a standard-size muffin pan with paper liners or with a generous coating of non-stick cooking spray. 

In a large bowl mix together the oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. 

In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup mix together the milk, silan/honey/maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add the liquid ingredients to the oat mixture along with the mashed bananas, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. 

The batter is going to be liquidy and that's ok because the oats need that liquid to cook and soften. 

Scoop into the prepared muffin pan, you can fill the muffins up all the way as these don't rise too much. Top each muffin with a few pieces of sliced banana and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes in the muffin pan and then run a knife around the muffins to pop them out of the pan. 

These freeze beautifully - just warm them up in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute.

You can leave out the chocolate chips (why would you want to??) and add in blueberries or diced apples. 

Yield: 12 standard-size muffins 

Store in an airtight container or ziptop bag in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for 3 months.  

*If you want to make these muffins gluten-free just swap in gluten-free oats