Pumpkin Nutella Oatmeal Muffins

Hope you are enjoying the highlights of fall…

I know we are!

Football, Colorful trees, Bonfires, Apples and, of course, Pumpkins. 

Funny thing though, in my house, when my kids request something…

they never quite get exactly what they are asking for, 

but are generally pleased with what they get instead.  

In this case, Ryker asked for banana muffins and 

while taking on some of the male traits in my house, 

I selectively heard "muffins".

So, I was more than happy to fulfill his request.  

I'm pretty sure that if these were straight up pumpkin muffins, 

he would have been somewhat disappointed.  

However, the Nutella in the middle, makes these out of this world.  

The creamy, nutty, chocolate-y middle 

was a perfect contrast for the oatmeal and pumpkin muffin. 

But, don't take my word for it…try it for yourself. 

I just started with a basic pumpkin bread recipe and made my own tweaks along the way.  

About 1 cup of pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup of canola oil, 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, 1/4 cup water and 2 eggs were measured into my trusty mixing bowl. 

After mixing, it looked like I went into the baby-food making business.  

Not so much. 

I happen to be a huge fan of oatmeal in my baked goods, 

so instead of adding flour next, 

I added 1 cup of quick oats, 

I could balance out the flour later once I knew the consistency. 

Then, I only went with 1/2 cup of sugar. 

Especially when adding embellishments like chocolate or Nutella, 

the baked goods themselves can thrive on less sugar. 

Then, for the minor ingredients, the traditional pumpkin spices were added,

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

along with 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. 

After mixing that all up, I decided that about 1 cup of flour would yield the desired consistency. 

Yep, looks about right!

Before I get too far ahead of myself, the oven needs to be pre-heated to 350 F. 

Then, a sprayed muffin tin can be filled 3/4 full with the muffin batter. 

Now, about 1 tbsp of Nutella was plopped into each muffin tin. 

Then, just using a knife, the Nutella was gently swirled into the batter. 

Upon completion, there was just a hint of the Nutella visible from the top. 

They were popped into the oven for 20-25 minutes. 

This is what mine looked like after 22 minutes. 

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 cup of pumpkin puree

1/2 cup of canola oil

1/2 cup of light brown sugar

1/4 cup water

2 eggs

1 cup quick oats

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup flour
Cooking spray

3/4 cup Nutella - divided into Tbsp

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Blend together the first 5 wet ingredients. 
Then add the next 8 dry ingredients. 
Pour muffin batter into sprayed muffin tins, filling about 3/4 full. 
Add about 1 tbsp of Nutella to each tin and gently swirl with a knife to incorporate. 
Bake for 20-25 minutes and allow to cool. 

I love having baked goods around. 

My kids were able to enjoy them for breakfast and after school snacks

AND

I was able to share a few with friends!  

Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Well, it is the biggest rummage sale day of the year around these parts and I have a fabulous tradition with my girlfriends to get together the second Saturday morning in August to find great deals on things we may or may not need.

You know how that goes....

A few years ago, I brought my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and my friends have been asking for them ever since.

So, this year, in my abundance of zucchini, I thought I'd revise that recipe...put in more of the good and less of the bad...kill two birds with one stone...bring them the banana muffins they have been asking for and try something new around here.

Without further ado...

Start with two over ripe bananas, mashed up real good.  

Can anyone tell me, do bananas ripen faster this time of year or is that just me?

One and a half cups of shredded zucchini.

So many recipes call for one zucchini, shredded, that is too ambiguous, even for this queen of ambiguity.  

My zucchini vary in size so greatly...I just shredded half of one and measured the shreds accordingly.

Whisk up the zucchini and bananas with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

As far as the dry ingredients, one and a half cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.

Many recipes tell you to mix the dry ingredient separately…

I'm not big on that.  

The main reason is so that the minor ingredients (baking soda, powder and salt) are distributed evenly.

I just heap them all together and mix well.  

No complaints around here.

It helps to begin with the end in mind, if you know the reasoning behind any given instructions, 

you can revise the method according to the goal.

Only thing this is really missing from the original recipe is oatmeal...(and an egg).  I really like the texture that oatmeal imparts...perhaps I'll make another batch with another 1/2 cup of zucchini and a cup or so of oatmeal..really keep you guessing!

Finally, 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips were added and the batter was folded together. 

Muffin tins were sprayed with cooking spray, I prefer that for muffins, for some reason. 

Bake these bad boys at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are just starting to brown.

These were amazing, nothing short of delicious! 

Only problem is that this recipe only made 10, so you may want to double. 

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

2 overripe Bananas - mashed

1 1/2 cups of shredded zucchini

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Whisk together bananas, zucchini, sugar and vanilla. 
Add dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 
Mix everything together and add chocolate chips. 

Pour batter into spray muffin tins. 
Baking at 350F for 20-25 minutes. 

**Share with your neighbors and anyone else you want to be your friend**