Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins

Let me start by saying thank you to all of you who wished me well in my new job.  It was wonderful to have so many friends leave kind words of support and encouragement here!  I survived the first day and am so psyched that tomorrow is already Friday.  Nothing like a two day work week to ease back into things, right?  What is everyone up to this weekend?  We have a wedding to attend, errands to run, and the World Cup and tennis to watch – should be a good one!

Before I knew I’d be going back to work I’d made a batch of these muffins and stuck them in my freezer for a quick breakfast.  Little did I know just how handy they’d be a few weeks later!  I grabbed one on my way out the door today and, along with some blueberries I’d also packed, I had a great breakfast on the train.  I love the combination of flavors in these muffins.  The bananas are the dominant flavor (my bananas were extra ripe having been pulled from the freezer) with the oats mostly contributing texture to the muffins.  I didn’t think the peanut butter flavor was especially strong and I found myself wanting more so I took Nicole’s suggestion to top the muffins with just a bit of peanut butter and thought it was the perfect touch!  The recipe is made entirely by hand so it’s quick and easy and since I now know the muffins are delicious from the freezer (I took them out to defrost the night before and they were all set by the morning), I’ll be turning to them often this summer.

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins
from Baking Bites

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2-3 medium bananas)
6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line your muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Whisk together the vegetable oil, brown sugar, eggs, mashed banana, peanut butter and buttermilk in a medium bowl until smooth.  Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir to combine just until the flour is incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each just about up to the top.

Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes then remove the muffins from tin and cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins