Muffookie

Have you ever mastered a recipe?  And by mastered I mean you can remember the recipe without having to thumb through a book or goo up your laptop keyboard for an ingredient mind jog; you also know it consistently tastes the way that produces a little squeally sigh deep from the underbelly of contentment.

I have finally found a master recipe.

I call it, the Muffookie.  (Don't say it three times fast.)

It needs a better name, I know.  Suggestions that sound a little less profane or Star Wars related, are welcome.

I can make this recipe in 10 minutes and it bakes in 12-14.

You can swap out ingredients.

You can bake it anyway you'd like.

And, bonus!  They are probably the healthiest baked good I have ever made.

And now, I have plotted their rise to total kitchen domination by prepping jars of dry goods packed with ingredients.  They line my shelf like little artillery shells filled with smokin good stuff.

Here is the cross-my-heart-this-really-works-master-recipe:

Dry:
3/4 cup oats-ground into flour by food processor
1 cup flour (choose thine option: gluten free, whole wheat, white, almond)
2 Tbsp flax seed meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthum gum (if you used gfree flour)
mix it all thoroughly with a sifter-fun fun fun!

Wet:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar (choose thine option:  honey, agave nectar, brown sugar, white sugar)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Tbsp Molasses (gives it that sassy kick)
1 egg
1/4 cup natural applesauce (add at the end of wet ingredients)

Beat butter for 1 minute; add sugar and beat 1 minute; add vanilla, molasses and beat 1 minute, add egg and applesauce and mix until combined.  Add all dry ingredients.  Mix well.

Add ons:
chocolate chips
coconut flakes
almond extract
walnuts
sweet potato
banana (add with wet ingredients-muffookies will be more moist)

I like to use my pampered chef scoop and put about a tablespoon of batter on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  I'm guessing a muffin tin could possibly work?  But don't take my word for it.

Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes.

Delish.  I am in love.  Any nutritionist like to give me their health opinion on this?  But only if it's positive.

I love these on Sunday morning with my English Breakfast Tea and my newspaper and Target ad.

Beyond the Muffookie

What takes this beyond just a mastered recipe, is the idea to pre-mix the dry ingredients!!  I know, it's like those cookie jars I used to see other kids' moms make for teachers at Christmas.  But this time, it's for me and my Sunday mornings.

This has significantly cut down on kitchen mess.  And Lord knows, I am a tornado in my kitchen.

So I ground lots of oats, did some measuring. . .

and within 15 minutes I had my jars filled and beaming with oaty goodness.

Another simple solution I found when making jars of pre-mix, is to place the jar over a pliable lining, like parchment paper.  I don't know about your pouring accuracy, but if you're anything like me, trying to get flour into an old kroger small mouthed applesauce jar exponentially increases my monthly grocery budget.  So measure, dump, and re-dump the flour that didn't quite make it.

Well, with 29 years under my belt, I finally have found a couple simple solutions that were not in my Real Simple magazines. . .take that muffin ice cubs (see latest issue).

May the Muffookie bring you many mornings of sweet happiness!

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