Maple Oatmeal Muffins With Maple Brown Butter Icing

Whole Wheat Maple Oatmeal Muffins spiced with a touch of cinnamon then drizzled with Maple Brown Sugar Icing.  Eat them for breakfast, serve as a school snack or bring them to the next office meeting. Either way, you’ll be a hero at home or work with this recipe in your pocket!

While these muffins may not be sugar-free they are made with pure maple syrup instead of all-white sugar which is a little better. 

Gluten-Free?  No problem. You can easily use gluten-free oatmeal and gluten-free all-purpose flour.  They swap out perfectly.  

The brown butter in this maple drizzle adds a wonderful rich nutty flavour to this already tasty icing.  Brown Butter is very easy to make and definitely worth playing with.  Substitute it for regular butter in pancakes, cookies, candied nuts, drizzled over corn and popcorn or toss with your favourite veggies.

What Is The Difference Between Brown Butter and Regular Butter?

Brown Butter is regular butter that has just been melted on medium-low heat until it has turned a slightly amber brown.  When browned, the butter provides a rich nutty flavour that adds depth to many recipes.

How Do You Make Brown Butter?

In a small pot add butter that has been cut up into large pieces and melt over medium-low heat.  Once the butter is melted it will start to bubble and foam. As the butter browns, it will turn from a golden yellow colour to tan and then to an amber brown. 

The buttermilk solids tend to cook faster so you will see them start to form brown flecks at the bottom of the pot. Once the butter turns a light amber colour and you start to smell a nutty aroma you will know it is time to remove the butter from the heat.

You can then strain the browned butter through a fine holed sieve to remove the milk solid sediment and then use it right away for recipes that call for melted butter or store it in the refrigerator for up to a month.  When using in the future do not melt butter on the stove because you will then be recooking and risk it burning. Instead, use at room temperature or microwave on low until just melted.

For more information on how to make brown butter and what it should look like click here.

How to Make Maple Oatmeal Muffins

This delicious oatmeal muffin recipe is done in one bowl for easy cleanup and takes just over an ½ hour to make!  I love one-bowl treats… less clean up!

Preheat your oven to 400° F and lightly grease a muffin pan with butter to prevent the muffins from sticking or line each muffin cup with muffin paper muffin liners.  I also like the lightly grease the top of the muffin tin because sometimes the top of the muffins goes over the edges and this prevents the muffin tops from sticking.

In a large bowl combine 1 cup of milk and 2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats.  Add ½ cup maple syrup, ⅓ cup vegetable or sunflower oil, 2 eggs, and ⅔ cup packed light brown sugar to the oat mixture.  Mix well until sugar is combined with the wet ingredients.

Add 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp of sea salt.  Stir just until the dry ingredients are combined with the wet ingredients. 

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins until they are ¾ of the way full.  This recipe makes exactly 12 muffins. So just fill each cup up evenly. I like to use an ice cream scoop to fill muffin cups.  It is much easier than spooning in the mixture and helps with doling out an even amount to each cup.

Pop the muffin tray into the oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of one of the muffins comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack completely before adding the maple brown butter icing.

Now for the best part!  So good I had to restrain myself from eating it straight out of the bowl sans muffin with a spoon good.

How To Make The Maple Brown Butter Icing

You have been warned! This stuff is dangerous.  Before you know it you will be dreaming of ways to use this drizzle in other recipes.  Keep this recipe for later because it would be great over carrot cake, gingerbread, on cakes, pies, and cinnamon rolls… need I go on?

Let’s get started!

In a medium bowl add 2 tablespoons of melted browned butter, 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and about 1 ½ tablespoons of water.  Stir until all the powdered sugar is dissolved into the wet ingredients and the icing is smooth.

Now the fun part!  

Using a spoon drizzle the icing over each cooled muffin back and forth in a hashtag style. Now they are ready to eat! Or store them in a sealed container for up to 3 days but they are so good they likely won’t last that long!

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