Autumn Harvest Muffins

The changing seasons brings many new transitions, not the least of which being my kitchen habits! I notice the change pretty clearly once the weather starts to cool and the leaves begin to fall off the trees. I wake up in the morning craving oatmeal instead of a smoothie, our lunches go from being crab salad sandwiches to soups and stews, and of course, how can I leave out the incorporation of pumpkin into as many baked goods as possible! I love autumn and winter cooking! It's so hearty, rich, and comforting! If I had to pick my top 10 favorite meals, I can assure you, at least 8 of them would be considered autumn/winter fare. 

So for today's post, I'm going to be sharing one of my favorite muffin recipes for the season. I call them Autumn Harvest Muffins. They are incredibly easy to make, and always taste delicious. What I enjoy most about them, is that they are very easy to play around with, so you can add or substitute various ingredients to make them exactly as you want them.

Ingredients 

* 1 cup of milk 
* 1 cup of quick cooking oats 
* 1 egg
* 1/4 cup of oil   
* 1 cup of flour
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1 tsp baking soda 
* 1 tbsp cinnamon
* 1 tbsp nutmeg
* 1/2 cup pumpkin (canned) 
* 1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)
* 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 
* 1/4 cup dried cranberries 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°c. Grease muffin tray or line with paper muffin liners. 
2. Mix together milk and oats in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together all dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg).
4. Pour milk and oat mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, along with the egg and oil.
5. Spoon batter into muffin cups, each about 3/4 full. 
6. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, and let cool for about 5 minutes before enjoying!