These are hearty muffins with texture from the oatmeal and full of chocolate chips. They are slightly sweet, will rise and bake to a golden brown top, and can be frozen for a month. They double as breakfast muffins and afternoon snacks.
Old-fashioned comfort
We are fans of recipes with oatmeal in general here.
This chocolate chip muffin version is a twist on our beloved moist oatmeal muffins recipe, which reminds me of my great-grandmother's scones.
I love how versatile and hearty they are in the morning, toasted with some honey in my case. Or freshly baked out of the oven as a mid-morning snack. They never disappoint.
I used butter instead of oil for a richer flavor that pairs pretty amazingly with semisweet chocolate. We also used white and brown sugars for that sweet and caramel flavor we love in cookies.
This oatmeal chocolate chip muffin recipe is our latest addition to the muffin archives, together with these moist zucchini carrot muffins.
How to make oatmeal choc chip muffins
This homemade muffin recipe is very easy to make. It's a one-bowl recipe that starts with a large bowl where you add ingredients in the order given.
- Wet ingredients: include the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, oil and vanilla, and incorporate first with a whisk or spatula; there's no need for an electric mixer.
- Dry ingredients: include the oats flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugars.
The wet ingredients are stirred in a bowl and then added to the dry ingredients all at once.
Mixing the batter. This should be done lightly and with a spatula. It's important not to overmix or beat it if you want soft, fluffy muffins.
Muffin pan & baking
Divide the muffin batter as evenly as possible so that the muffins bake better. There are two ways to fill the muffin pans:
- Use paper liners: also called muffin cups or cupcake liners, they are great for serving and transporting muffins because they act as their own container. This will create a softer muffin, except for the crusty top. They also make cleaning up easier as you don't have to grease the muffin tin.
- Grease the pan with butter or baking spray so that the muffins don't stick and are easy to remove. This will give the muffins a larger crust surface as the batter contacts the bottom and sides of the metal pan. But you'll have more washing up to do after.
Troubleshooting common issues
- Overmixing the batter can cause the muffins to become tough and dense. Combine the ingredients; don't beat or overmix.
- Using cold ingredients: they can cause the batter to not mix well and be lumpy. Using ingredients at room temperature is important unless otherwise specified in the recipe.
- Not greasing the muffin tin properly can cause the muffins to stick to the pan and be difficult to remove. If not using paper liners, use baking spray or soft butter.
- Overbaking the muffins can cause them to become dry and hard. Check the muffins a few minutes before the end of the suggested baking time with a cake tester or toothpick, and remove them from the oven as soon as they are cooked through.
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: Read the recipe first and ensure you have the ingredients at the correct temperature, the equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Baking time: Consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Pans: you can butter a muffin tin instead of using paper liners (muffin cups as they're also called). In that case, these chocolate chip oatmeal muffins will have more crust as the bottom and sides touch the metal muffin pan while baking.
- Chocolate chips: if you want a sweeter muffin, add half milk chocolate chips instead of semisweet. Mini chocolate chips can also be used.
- Flavorings: you can add other flavors with the vanilla, such as ground cinnamon, orange zest and a few drops of almond extract.
- Milk: Buttermilk gives these easy muffins a soft texture, but you can also make them with regular or almond milk.
- Oil: you can substitute oil for the melted butter, same volume. I have made them with sunflower, coconut oil, and even light olive oil with very good results.
- Storing: they keep well at room temperature for 2-3 days, always covered or in an airtight container. After that, I like to freeze them, always well wrapped.
Serving
- Freshly baked: this will always be my favorite way of eating these muffins. I take them out of the oven and let them cool down until warm and then bite into the fluffy crumb. So good!
- At room temperature: they have a window of several hours when they can be eaten plain. For me, that means about 3-4 hours after they're baked.
- Warmed: you can also warm them a little in the oven (medium heat, 350°F/180°C), without letting the toast. Great for muffins that are a day old or have been kept in the refrigerator.
- Toasted: this is my second choice and it's the way we eat them after they have been refrigerated or frozen. We toast them in half and sometimes eat them with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ cups traditional rolled oats
- ½ cup white or brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature, see Notes below for substitutions
- ½ cup oil, I used sunflower
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Turn on the oven at 350°F (180ºC).
- Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Or butter and flour them if not using paper cups. Reserve.
- Sift 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda and 1 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder into a large bowl.
- Add 1 ½ cups traditional rolled oats ½ cup white or brown sugar and stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup buttermilk, ½ cup oil, 1 egg and stir to mix. Integrate everything well without beating.
- Add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula or hand mixer until just combined. Don't be tempted to beat it as it will result in tougher and less fluffy muffins. Fold in 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips.
- Fill the muffin tins or paper cups no more than ¾ full, dividing the mixture as evenly as possible.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a tester comes out dry.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Store muffins that are left in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and reheat briefly before eating. Or in the freezer for a month.
Allison says
Very good!
angiesrecipes says
These muffins sound and look terrific with simple everyday pantry ingredients.