OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIE MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper cups. (I highly recommend using the paper muffin cups).
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt completely and then cook -- the butter will foam and start to crackle. Continue cooking, keeping a close eye on the pan, until the crackling subsides and little brown bits appear in the bottom of the pan when you swirl it. Remove from heat as soon as the butter solids have browned and it smells rich and nutty. Pour butter, including the browned bits, into a heat-proof bowl and set aside to cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk together until well combined; then stir in oats. In a separate bowl, whisk together browned butter, eggs, buttermilk and brown sugar. Stir in vanilla extract. Add the butter mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon until just combined (make sure to scrape up all the flour from the bottom of the bowl). Fold in raisins and, if desired, nuts.
• Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or a large spoon, divide batter between the 12 muffin cups (the cups should be mostly full). Bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.