Monthly Muffin: Maple Syrup Muffins

According to Epicurious there is only one seasonal ingredient in February in Virginia or Maryland... and that would be maple syrup! Who doesn't love maple syrup? I set forth to make the following muffin.

If you're like me, you love pancakes, but you rarely make them. They're delicious, but who has time to make them from scratch in the morning? We could make a lot on the weekend, but if you've had great success in saving pancake batter or reheating pancakes I'd like to hear about it. Pancakes are one of those things I hate to have leftovers of... so what to do? Maple syrup muffins! They keep well, they're portable, you can make a bunch at once and they taste like a maple syrup heavy pancake without feeling sticky after.

Maple Syrup Muffins

Prep time: 30-35 minutes | Yields: 9-10 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Brown sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 1/2 cups Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking powder
• 3/4 cup Oatmeal
• 1 tablespoon Oatmeal (for topping)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl mix together butter, sugar and egg.
3. In separate bowl or measuring cup mix together milk and syrup. Combine with other wet goods.
   
4. In a third bowl mix salt, flour, baking powder together.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet. Stir to combine, but do not mix beyond that.
6. Add oatmeal, again stir just to combine.
   
7. Fill non-stick greased muffin tins with batter. I recommend only fill them about 2/3rds to 3/4th of the way. (As you can see, my muffins grew like crazy!)
8. Top with remaining oatmeal.
   
9. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean.
   
10. Let cool on a rack