Banana Cookie Butter Oatmeal Muffins for #MuffinMonday

These whole grain banana oatmeal muffins are sweetened with cookie butter. Add cocoa powder if you'd like an even richer treat!

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You know "those cookies you get on airplanes"? The sweet, crumbly type in the fiddly little red & white wrapper? That's how my mom described Biscoff cookies the other day, as she was offering snacks during our car trip. This description rang true for me, as I've only eaten Biscoff cookies while fighting for command of the arm rest with a complete stranger and trying to quietly read with my knees practically in my chest due to the ever decreasing leg room. Apparently the FAA is gonna get involved with that. I'm not holding my breath. Instead, I'll just grab my pantry staple jar of Cookie Butter and make a batch of muffins for Muffin Monday.

I've made these muffins 2 ways--both with and without cocoa powder in the mix. I prefer them with the cocoa powder--both the deep color and the rich flavor of the muffin hit all the notes I like in a muffin. You can see the different versions in the photos above and below this paragraph. As is my custom, these muffins aren't as sweet as your usual bakery muffin. I cut back on the sugar even more since I was boosting up the sweetness with cookie butter.

What do you do if you can't find Biscoff cookie butter in your grocery store? (Hint--I find it over near the bakery in my local Kroger, never on a shelf by the peanut butter which is where my organizational heart thinks it belongs.) Trader Joes makes their own brand of cookie butter which is perfect for this application. You can also order some from Amazon, I'll throw up some links below the recipe. This post is not sponsored by the Biscoff or Trader Joe's folks. Just sharing what I've used to make my muffins.

Did you know that when you've got ripe bananas and no time to eat them, you can just toss the bunch into the freezer? When you've got time, simply break off a stem and let it sit on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes to soften enough to peel. No need to peel and wrap in plastic or a baggie--nature provides you with the perfect wrapper for freezing. For more recipes using ripe bananas, please see my Banana Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

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Note: start this recipe at least 1 hour (preferably overnight if that's easier for you) before you wish to bake the muffins.

Banana Cookie Butter Muffins
By Kirsten Madaus

These whole grain banana oatmeal muffins are sweetened with cookie butter. Add cocoa powder if you'd like an even richer treat!

Prep time: 00:05
Cook time: 00:15
Total time: 00:25

Yield: 1 dozen regular muffins or 2½ dozen mini muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup (8 ounces by volume) buttermilk
1 large egg
1 ripe banana
¼ cup (2 ounces by volume) vegetable oil or cooking oil of your choice
2 Tablespoons cookie butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 to 4 Tablespoons brown sugar (see below)
1¼ cups (5 ounces by weight) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
½ teaspoon baking soda
Optional but recommended: ¼ cup cocoa powder

Instructions:

In a pint jar or medium bowl, mix together oats and buttermilk. Let sit for at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge.

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a 12 well muffin pan or 24 well mini muffin pan by spraying with oil spray or lining with paper liners.

Add egg, banana, oil, cookie butter, vanilla and brown sugar to the soaked oats. 

Mix the wet ingredients well. Dump the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and optional cocoa powder on top if desired. Note: If you're adding cocoa powder, use the additional Tablespoon of brown sugar to balance out the cocoa powder.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just moistened. Scoop batter into prepared pan.

Bake regular muffins for 15 to 18 minutes, or mini muffins for 12 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Good warm or at room temp, and better the following day.

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page

• Banana Cookie Butter Oatmeal Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Blueberry-Peach Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Cherry Surprise Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Corned Beef Stuffed Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Country Applesauce Pecan Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Sour Cream Muffins with Mixed Berries from Karen's Kitchen Stories