Oatmeal Choco-Toffee Muffins & the Georgia Snowstorm

Let me start by saying, I am from the North.  I was born and grew up in Ohio which gets a good amount of snow and ice thanks to the Great Lakes.  I also spent last winter in West Point Military Academy in the Hudson Valley area of New York which gets MOUNTAINS of snow.  We are currently at Ft. Benning, Georgia and last night they called for a snow storm which prompted all kinds of shut downs from schools, offices, and onwards.  You'd think it was a state wide emergency here in our area.  Everyone on the base yesterday was shopping and stocking up.  Every aisle was bare boned from frozen pizzas to ramen noodles, there was nary a box or bag in sight.  We just laughed because if it even RAINS too hard down here, people wig out, can't drive and stay home like shut ins during a hurricane.  But this...lol...was our "BIG" Georgia snowstorm.

See the mounds of snow in my front yard?!  Panic!

My husband got a call last night from his NCOIC canceling their exercise this morning because of the weather and many of the hospital clinics are closed today.  I got up early today (expecting a TON of snow and ice) and thought I would send my soldier off to work with some nice warm muffins and hot tea.  He was all too thrilled with chocolatey toffee muffins before he battled the blizzard outside in his quest to reach work 20 minutes away.  Would he make it?!  *panic*

I made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Toffee Muffins which were so filling and lovely on this chilly morning.  Imagine a oatmeal chocolate chip cookie but in muffin form.  Oh it was wonderful.  A super tender crumb middle, a lightly crispy sweet topping thanks to the sprinkling of toffee bits and big blobs of melty chocolate in every bite.  It was utterly delightful.  My only regret was that I didn't make hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows!  Boo!  (but I didn't plan ahead for the big snow storm...my bad.)  Please give these a try on your next chilly willy morning to warm you up.  They come together lickety split and bake in only 20.  Yum!

This recipe called for jumbo muffins cups but I did regular sized and it made 18 regular sized muffins.  I'm betting 12 jumbos if you go that route.  Either way is good to me but I wouldn't go to mini sized since it uses whole oats and they're rather large.  Just seems to go better in a bigger muffin.  Your choice though!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip-Toffee Muffins

2 cup quick oats
1 2/3 cup buttermilk
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup flour
1½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cup dark chocolate chips chips
½ cup toffee bits, plus more for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line your muffin tin with papers or spray/grease your cups well.

In a large bowl, combine oats and sugars. Pour buttermilk over mixture, stir to combine, and let sit 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine eggs and vanilla. Poor cooled butter into egg mixture and combine. Pour butter and egg mixture into oat mixture, and stir to combine.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour flour mixture into oat mixture. Stir until just combined. Add chocolate chips and toffee bits, stirring gently.

Fill cups about ¾ full. Sprinkle with additional toffee on top.  Bake about 20 minutes, or until golden. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pans, then let cool on racks.

 PS - sorry if we're slow posting this past week...chef is still battling the sniffles, sneezes and coughs.  :)