Back-to-School Muffins

Here's another back-to-school tip: If your kid has to catch a bus at the crack of dawn like my kid does, you know that (unfortunately) breakfast needs to be on the go. The following is my go-to muffin recipe, adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks: Vegetarian Classics by Jeanne Lemlin. I throw in 1 cup of whatever fresh fruit I happen to have on hand: I just made them with bing cherries and a 1/2 tsp of almond extract (pictured), but blueberries, diced/cubed apples with a dash of cinnamon, and any dried fruits work well, too (especially apricots or cranberries), as do nuts (cranberries and walnuts are especially tasty).

I freeze these muffins individually, so they can easily be popped into the microwave for a minute and voila': a nice, hot muffin to get your school morning off to an equally nice start.
I was offered a sample of Sutton Gourmet Baking Cups and I love not only the cute prints, but also how they kept their color despite being baked (also pictured).

School Morning Muffins

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBS baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fresh or dried fruit

1 cup milk

6 TBS canola oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients, then mix in the wet ingredients; lastly add the fruit. Do not overmix.Spoon the mixture into a muffin tin with baking cups, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Enjoy!