Oatmeal, Raisin and.......Chocolate?

I know, strange combination. And I also know that I have said that before on my blog several times. Ie; shrimp and grits, mayonnaise and chicken, and bacon and pasta. So, that being said, I thought oatmeal, raisin and chocolate was an odd pairing (or is it thirding since that is three ingredients?).

I wanted something sweet today, and something to take along to my in-law's since we are heading over there for dinner. I am too lazy to make cookies, so I thought, "Hmm, I wonder if there is a recipe for oatmeal raisin muffins on the internet somewhere?" Well, I found one. Thank you trusty allrecipes.com! This recipe had all the yumminess of oatmeal raisin cookies but in a muffin form. Also, it had a couple of tablespoons of cocoa, which I thought was unique.

I was under a bit of pressure, because I haven't done the grocery shopping for the week (bad Pachey), and I was limited with ingredients. I had one egg on hand, not very much milk, no brown sugar and was running low on oil. That severely limited the choices that I had. It must have been divine intervention because this recipe only took one egg! And only a cup of milk!! And only 1/4 of oil!!! Can you tell I am excited? Even better, it doesn't have a lot of sugar, which makes it diet-friendly.


Between rinsing out towels and cleaning soap suds out of my washer (that's a story for another time), these muffins were baking. The house smelled like a combination of brownies and oatmeal raisin cookies. When they came out of the oven, they were dark, but not dark enough to tell that they contained cocoa powder.


Mmmmm, they are good! Very easy to put together, and I would classify them as a muffin for any time of day. They have oatmeal and raisin in them, so they are appropriate for breakfast. Plus, with the addition of the chocolate, they are good for an after dinner treat too! That is why I labeled this one as Dessert and Breakfast


I hope my in-laws like them. They are traditionalists and frown upon anything new. Well, I might just have to break them of that trait.


Chocolate Raisin Oatmeal Muffins
from: http://www.allrecipes.com/ (submitted by CHEWLY)


1.5 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 vegetable or canola oil


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin pan or line with paper muffin liners. Stir together flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Set aside.


2. In a large bowl, stir together the rolled oats, sugar and salt. Mix in the other dry ingredients and raisins. Add the milk, egg, and oil. Mix until just blended. The batter will be lumpy. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.


3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from cups to cool on a wire rack.