Wired Monkey Oat Flour Muffins

·

(Note: this post was originally published on March 11, 2019 and the photos were updated on January 7, 2021. The date above reflects migration to the new platform.)

The Story: A Smoothie Becomes a Muffin

Really, could anything be better than muffins made with peanut butter? What if those muffins also contained sweet banana, gooey chocolate, and a jolt of espresso?? Yes! Now we're talking. And to make these even more appealing, these beauties are made just by blasting everything in the blender. Life is good!

Oddly, these muffins are an homage to a smoothie. Is that a weird thing to say? One of our favorite coffee shops in the world, Java Kai on Kaua'i, has a "Wired Monkey" smoothie that's our absolute most favorite post-hike treat. It has coffee and bananas (hence the name), and we usually beg them to add a big blob of peanut butter into the mix.

A Nourishing (and Easy!) Treat

There are numerous things that I love about these muffins from a nutritional standpoint. First, they're made with oat flour, which I absolutely adore. Second, they get all their fat and moisture from bananas and nuts (in the form of peanut butter), so they're free of added oil. And finally, they're minimally sweetened with just a bit of maple syrup. If you're trying to avoid refined sugars entirely, you could omit the chocolate chips and add some walnuts instead. They're vegan and flourless in the traditional sense, if you like labels.

These muffins are also absurdly easy. Just put all the ingredients in a blender and blast them. There's no fussing with multiple bowls, and this approach allows you to use whole oats rather than having to buy or pre-make oat flour.

We've really been loving these muffins as an easy on-the-go snack. Because they're protein-rich, have some complex carbs (thanks, oats!), and are non-sugary, they don't digest like a normal muffin. Rather, they're a really great and nourishing pick-me-up and the absolute best post-workout snack.

Coffee INSIDE a Muffin??

At the risk of stating the obvious, coffee very clearly belongs in baked goods. I like to use espresso powder, but instant coffee would work too, if you can't get your hands on espresso powder. It's actually what gives these muffins their deep, rich color; there's no chocolate in the batter! The flavor is amazing and it wakes up all the other flavors (and wakes YOU up too!).

Looking for other coffee baked good inspiration? These Flourless Coffee Macadamia Blondies have espresso powder in them too! It's a truly delightful flavor, it pairs perfectly with chocolate, and it seems so fitting for a morning treat.

Of course, you can also pair one of these muffins with a cup of coffee. You know, just to be sure the day is off to the right sort of start...

Let's Talk Ingredients

Here's what you'll need for this recipe, as well as some thoughts, tips, and possible substitutions. If you make any substitutions, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below.

  • Bananas. The riper the better! Make sure they're very soft, with ample brown spots.
  • Milk. I like to bake with unsweetened soy milk because of its richness, but anything will work.
  • Peanut butter. I use chunky just because that's what I always have on-hand, but either would be fine. A different nut butter would work okay here too, although I love the PB-banana combo.
  • Maple syrup
  • Apple cider vinegar. I promise this isn't as weird as it sounds! The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to give these vegan muffins loft.
  • Vanilla
  • Old-fashioned rolled oats. Steel-cut oats will not work!
  • Espresso powder. This is made by King Arthur Flour and can be found in well-stocked cooking stores or ordered online from their website. It's one of my most beloved baking ingredients, and I highly recommend getting some and putting it in everything you bake. If you can't find it, instant coffee will also work, although the flavor won't be as strong so you might want to add more.
  • Baking powder
  • Baking soda
  • Salt
  • Chocolate chips. Vegan, if that's how you roll. I like a semi-sweet chocolate here, since there's already some bitterness in the coffee. If you opt for a really dark chocolate, you might consider adding a dash more maple syrup.

Closing Thoughts

Pro tip: these make for an excellent dessert as well, especially if you warm them up first. We like them most with a big drizzle of chocolate-Kahlua sauce on top. But in the name of scientific research, we also experimented with a drizzle of peanut butter sauce. And regular chocolate sauce. And chocolate peanut butter sauce. Answer: all are divine. Oh, and if you cut them open to make a peanut butter sandwich, all of the above options are even better.

Seriously, how gorgeous are these? I hope you'll make them again and again and again. They're the best mixture of delicious, nutritious, and easy.

Share It!

It makes me so happy to hear from you and see your creations! Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this recipe. If you post a photo on Instagram, hashtag #TheRogueBrusselSprout and tag me (@TheRogueBrusselSprout) in the post text so that I'm sure to see it.

Suggested Pairings

Pineapple Express

Banana Bread Granola

Fruity Brunch Salad

Berry Banana Breakfast Popsicles

Strawberry Thyme Granola Parfait

Wired Monkey Oat Flour Muffins

Muffins and espresso together?? Sign me up! These nourishing muffins get their structure from oat flour and their moisture from peanut butter, plus they pack a caffeine punch to get you going.

Author:
Lee

Ingredients

  • 2 large, very ripe bananas
  • 0.5 c milk of choice
  • 5 tbsp peanut butter
  • 0.25 c maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2.25 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1-2 tbsp espresso powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • Generous 0.5 c chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with 12 liners (or oil it well, but liners are really so much easier).
  2. Measure the wet ingredients into a blender; putting the wet ingredients in first prevents the dry ingredients from clumping below the blades.
  3. Then, measure in the dry ingredients EXCEPT for the chocolate chips.
  4. Blend everything until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you have a high-power blender, this should only take a minute. At this point, taste the batter and add a bit more espresso powder if you want.
  5. Add the chocolate chips to the batter and stir them in by hand.
  6. Pour the mixture evenly into the 12-muffin pan.
  7. Sprinkle each muffin top with a few additional chocolate chips.
  8. Bake 25-30 minutes until a cake tester just barely comes out clean. Let your muffins cool completely on a rack before removing them from the muffin tin.
  9. After cooling the muffins completely, store them in a tightly-sealed container in the fridge.

Leave a Comment

Please Share Your Thoughts!

Did you make this recipe? Did you make substitutions? How did you serve it? Any helpful tips? Please share your thoughts, since these insights are really useful to both me and to other readers.

Thanks for contributing to our community! Your comment will appear shortly.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Tammi
November 7, 2022
How much oat flour do I use I'm trying to learn to do things gluten free for my daughter and her family and I bought oat flour to use. Thanks
Lee
November 9, 2022
Tammi- Great question, thanks for asking! I love baking with oats (and oat flour) and I'm so excited you're experimenting with it. I usually just buy whole oats (they're less expensive) and then either make my own flour in a food processor or use the whole oats in a recipe like this that is made in a blender. But if you'd rather use oat flour in this one, I'd say about 1.75-2 cups. Whole oats are fluffier and take up more space, so in general you'll want to scale back a bit when you're adjusting from whole oats to oat flour. Even if you use oat flour, I think the blender approach to this batter will work fine. Hope that helps!
Carol
June 21, 2022
These look awesome I can’t wait to try them I love coffee
Lee
May 11, 2019
Meg- I don't suggest trying this recipe with almond flour. It just behaves so differently from oat flour. I worry your muffins would end up really crumbly and fragile. If you want an almond flour baked goodie though, check out my Nourishing Orange Macadamia Banana Bread!
Meg
May 10, 2019
Do you think these would work with almond flour instead?