Home on the Range Recipe: Maple Oatmeal Muffins

For a long time, I've wanted an oatmeal muffin recipe, but none of them seemed to work very well. They were dry or dense or bland. So I started to experiment until I came up with one that we all love and that uses ingredients I usually have in the cupboards. (What to make when I don't have bananas for banana nut muffins or zucchini for chocolate zucchini muffins?) I think it makes a good solid snack muffin for my family.

As always, I use my kitchen scale to measure out the ingredients. I've given estimates using measuring cups. Let me know if I made any mistakes.

Maple Oatmeal Muffins

3 1/2 oz quick-cooking oatmeal (1 cup)
12 oz low-fat vanilla or plain yogurt (1 1/2 cups)

3 eggs
3 3/4 oz brown sugar (1/2 cup)
8 oz unsweetened applesauce (1 cup)
2 3/4 oz maple syrup (1/4 cup)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp maple flavoring (optional)

5 oz whole wheat flour (1 1/4 cup)
3 3/4 oz ground flaxseed (3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)

1 1/2 cups yummy add-ins - The kids prefer frozen blueberries (7 1/2 oz). Kansas Dad and I like chopped pecans (5 5/8 oz).

1. Mix the quick-cooking oats with the yogurt. Let it sit for at least five minutes.
2. Mix the wet ingredients (eggs through the maple flavoring). Add the yogurt and oatmeal mixture.
3. Add the dry ingredients (whole wheat flour through nutmeg). I add it all to the bowl and then mix. It's good to leave a few streaks.
4. Add the blueberries, pecans, or whatever else you want to try. Again, it's alright to leave a few streaks of the dry ingredients.
5. Scoop into muffin pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of your muffins and your oven; I tend to make small muffins in a very hot oven so they don't take very long).

If you don't have ground flaxseed, you can add 1/4 cup vegetable oil with the wet ingredients instead.

Feel free to Pin or share this recipe, but please do not post it in its entirety in another location and always include a link to this post. Thanks for respecting the time I spent perfecting this recipe.

Home on the Range Protein Power Balls

I had never heard of power balls until a friend of mine posted her recipe for energy balls. I was intrigued, and after we'd tried them, I was determined to fine-tune the perfect power ball recipe for the Range, one made of ingredients we keep on hand and love so I could make them (nearly) anytime I wanted one.

Everyone on the Range loves these snacks. They take me quite a while to make unless I can get one or more of the kids to help shape the balls (really First Daughter is the only one who's ever interested at all), but they are worth it. They're delicious and a filling snack.

They are almost too delicious because one power ball is enough of a snack, but it's hard to eat just one.

You can adjust this recipe in many ways, but you want to try to keep your liquid ingredients balanced well with dry ingredients. Otherwise, they won't hold together very well.

I always use my kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients. Once you've weighed peanut butter instead of measuring it with a cup, you'll never want to go back. I'll try to give non-weight measurements, but it's been a long time since I made them that way. If you try it and it doesn't work, let me know.

Home on the Range Power Balls

15 oz peanut butter (1 1/2 cups)
1 oz coconut oil (about 1 1/3 tbsp)
9 oz honey (3/4 cup)
12 1/4 oz oatmeal, whatever kind you have on hand (3 1/2 cups)
2 oz wheat germ (1/2 cup)
2 1/2 oz ground flaxseed (1/2 cup)
2 generous scoops of protein powder (we've tried chocolate and vanilla and prefer the chocolate)
3 3/4 oz chopped pecans (1 cup)
3 oz chocolate chips (1/2 cup) - mini chocolate chips work really well for these

1. Mix the peanut butter, coconut oil, and honey in a mixer.

2. Add the oats and mix again.

3. Add the wheat germ, ground flaxseed, protein powder, chopped pecans, and chocolate chips. Mix again.

4. Shape into balls. (I like to use my muffin scoop to measure the mixture, then press and roll into into a ball.) Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and chill until solidified.

Store in the fridge or chilled or they'll fall to pieces (though they'll still be delicious).

With my muffin scoop, I usually get around 40 power balls. Your calorie count and grams of protein will vary based on your ingredients and the size of your snack, but you can enter your recipe on Calorie Count to get an estimate.