Posted on in Baking

Maple Oat Muffins

My husband and I have been making homemade maple syrup on a small-scale for the last few years. This year we were both excited at the prospect of making more syrup.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not cooperate with us this spring, bombarding us with large accumulations of snow (and mud) that prevented us from getting to the woods to tap the trees. It’s a good thing we have a rather generous stock of syrup built up to offset this natural disaster.

Maple syrup season is based on temperatures.  When the temperature rises above 32 degrees Fahrenheit during the day the sap begins to flow.  The freezing temperatures at night help draw water up through the tree roots and into the tree.  This replenishes the sap for the next day.  Once the days and nights both warm up maple syrup season is officially over.  The length of the season is also at the sole discretion of Mother Nature.

You may wonder why pure maple syrup costs so much.  Making maple syrup is a very labor intensive process.  Tapping trees, the daily collecting of sap – sometimes twice a day, (by the way, it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup), boiling the sap down (which can take hours), and canning it all takes so much time.  Labor intensive or not, when you taste that first amber-colored drop you realize just what a precious commodity you have. 

 

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I haven’t baked anything with maple syrup in it in a while.  In fact, I can’t remember posting any recipes on my blog that called for maple syrup –  shame on me.  To make up for this I’ve decided to share my maple oat muffin recipe.  These have a light, moist, and crumbly texture, are slightly sweet, and will leave you wanting just one more bite.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease 12 muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. margarine, softened

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1 egg

1 c. sour cream

3/4 c. maple syrup

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 c. quick cook oatmeal

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. chopped pecans (optional)

In a large bowl, add margarine, brown sugar, egg, sour cream, and maple syrup.  Mix until well blended.  In a separate bowl add salt, baking soda, baking powder, oatmeal, and flour. Pour the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients.  Mix well.  Fold in chopped nuts (optional).  Fill the muffin tins 3/4 full.  Bake for 15-18 minutes.  Makes 1 dozen.

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 Do you have a favorite recipe that calls for maple syrup?  Maple cake? Cookies? Bread? Please do tell!

14 thoughts on “Maple Oat Muffins”

  1. I love maple syrup but I don’t buy it often because it is so expensive! I think it is amazing that you were able to tap your own trees. AMAZING! And of course, these muffins look great. Thank you for sharing with me…and for making me smile. Your words are a source of joy in my life, and in the lives of many others. I hope you have a happy Friday. The weekend is almost here, and I’m ready for it!

  2. you make your own maple syrup !! WOW. I read once how it is made and how much work it requires. I’m impressed.
    i love a good maple syrup but since its so expensive I don’t use it as much as I would want too.
    your muffins must have tasted and smelled heavenly.
    thanks for sharing

  3. I am so impressed that you have made your own maple syrup! You must have quite a few beautiful trees. What fun (and a ton of work,too!). Those muffins are wonderful. I love all things made with real maple syrup. Sadly, here in Arizona, most people think Mrs. Buttersworth is real.

  4. Gosh. MAKING your own maple syrup, now that’s impressive. I watched a documentary on how it was made just recently and so do appreciate how labour intensive it is. So sorry to hear about the weather, though, so just as well you have a good stock. Your muffins not only are healthy but they look downright scrumptious. Lovely textures. I’m ashamed to say that I don’t use maple syrup in recipes but tend to dribble it on homemade walnut ice-cream. 😉

  8. I’ve never tasted real maple syrup before. Have heard horror stories about how expensive it is. I bet it really enhances the taste of your muffins. Love your pics and how the nuts look evenly spaced. I’d love these for breakfast in the morning.

  9. Those look and sound lovely! I wonder, can it be done with honey instead of maple syrup? I don’t much care for the flavor of maple although I can’t remember the last time I had a taste of true, pure maple syrup. Also, I am thoroughly impressed with the fact that you make your own!

    Also I have a question – I notice that your baking recipes generally call for margarine. Is there a reason that you use margarine and not butter? I’m always curious about how people arrive at their recipes.

    1. FLF, I am partial to margarine. I use both margarine and butter for baking but I like the flavor of margarine a bit better. I also prefer a margarine with a 7-8 gram fat content. Butter has a much higher fat content. Also, the price is usually much better for margarine. When you bake a lot you have to take the cost into consideration as long you’re not sacrificing the final product. I think it boils down to personal preference in most cases. There might be a few recipes that you really shouldn’t subsitute, but for the most part I feel they are interchangeable.

      1. That is a good point that I never considered – cost. I do bake a lot (or at least I go through phases of baking a lot) and I’ve noticed that the price of butter fluctuates quite a bit, but is almost never less than $2/lb and even more for the name brands. I will try margarine next time and see how it works for me!

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