Blueberry Banana Muffins with Steel Cut Oats #MuffinMonday

Bananas and blueberries are the sweet fruit and steel cut oats are the hearty grains packed into a healthy breakfast treat to power you thru until lunchtime. These muffins contain whole fat dairy instead of oil.

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I think I'm more fond of baking with bananas than eating them fresh. There's a small window of banana perfection for me--I prefer mine just barely ripe with a bit of green on the stem. Once the bunch of bananas has moved on to full ripeness I'm more likely to make a Banana PB and Spinach Smoothie, or Banana Blender Waffles, or a Ham & Banana Pizza. Or muffins!

It's easy to store ripe bananas in the freezer--just open the door and slip them inside! There's no need to remove the skin and store in a different container, since the banana skin is the perfect covering for the banana no matter what the outer environment is like. That's better for the environment as well. Bananas take just a few minutes to thaw on the counter (put them on a plate if you think they'll get weepy) and they are ready to use in all sorts of baked goods. I made a video about how to deal with overripe bananas, another in my Cooking Hacks series. Please enjoy!

The inspiration for these muffins came, as it often does, from the contents of my refrigerator. In addition to ripe bananas I also had fresh blueberries, although frozen ones would work just fine in this recipe. No need to thaw the blueberries before adding to the batter. I'd love to tell you that I chose to omit the oil, relying instead on the full fat whole milk buttermilk and yogurt, but in fact I just spaced as I was assembling the ingredients. I'm on autopilot in the mornings while making muffins most days. Nevertheless, these chewy gems were well received by my kids and coworkers alike.

For more recipes using bananas, please see my Banana Recipes Collection. For more recipes using blueberries, please see my Blueberry Recipes Collection. These collections are 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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Blueberry Banana Muffins with Steel Cut Oats
By Kirsten Madaus

Bananas and blueberries are the sweet fruit and steel cut oats are the hearty grains that are packed into a healthy breakfast treat to power you thru until lunchtime. These muffins contain whole fat dairy instead of oil. Prep time includes overnight soaking of grains.

Prep time: 08:05
Cook time: 00:20
Total time: 08:25

Yield: 12 standard muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup steel cut oats
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup vanilla yogurt
1 ripe banana
1 large egg
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup (4 oz by weight) whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
optional, about ¼ cup butterscotch bits

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine oats and buttermilk. Chill overnight.

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 12 well muffin pan with paper liners. Add the yogurt, mashed banana, egg, brown sugar and vanilla to the oats and mix thoroughly.

Dump flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda on top. Stir briefly.

Add blueberries and stir until just combined.

Scoop into prepared pan. If desired, sprinkle optional butterscotch bits on top.

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Good warm or room temp.

#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 Blueberry Muffins with Steel Cut Oats from me!
• Banana Craisin Muffins with Streusel Topping from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Frito Corn Dog Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Vanilla Pear Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Whole Wheat Banana Muffins from Passion Kneaded