What's Cookin': Oat & Streusel Muffins

I have the baking itch. Bad. I want to bake everything. Unfortunately, the little voice in the back of my head keeps saying "But you won't be around to eat it. It will go bad... Just wait til next week..." So I have been waiting. For the most part. However, I woke up this morning wanting muffins something awful. A desperate, aching longing for muffins. I could not go on if I didn't have muffins. So I pulled out the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook I got from my grandmother's house and took the basic muffin recipe. Then messed with it, because you know I can't leave anything alone.

Did you know I used to think that I could only make muffins from a box. Seriously. Ok, you can stop laughing now. It never occurred to me, until I became a stay at home mama and started cooking everything from scratch that there was another way to make muffins. It dawned on me that I could make them myself, without a box! So now that's all I do (except blueberry. I really love the little tin of tiny blueberries from the box.) No really, stop laughing. And go make these.

Oat & Streusel Muffins - makes 24 muffins
2 2/3 C flour
1 1/2 C oats
2/3 C sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 C milk
1/2 C oil
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

Steusel Topping:
6 Tbs flour
6 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbs butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients (including cinnamon) in a large bowl*. In a separate container, mix the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the liquid. Stir until just moistened. Don't beat it senseless. As little stirring as possible makes for fluffy muffins. Dish into muffin tins about 2/3 full (1/2 cup measure worked perfectly for me).

To make topping, mix together flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter (I use my fingers) until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle on top of muffins and press in a little bit. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test. Cool for 5 - 10 minutes before devouring.

*Muffins are one of the few things I will mix by hand, rather than in my Kitchenaid. I like the control I have and the ability to make sure they don't get over mixed. Muffins are picky that way.

Notes & Variations: I added oatmeal to mine because I wanted something I could feel happy giving my munchkins for snack aside from just sugar. This way they get a little healthy stuff in there. Also, it makes them more filling so you don't need to eat half the batch at once... Unless you're into that.

Ben Rating: 4. He promptly ate two as soon as he saw them. :)