My favorite muffins are blueberry, banana-nut, orange-cranberry and…yes bran. The older I get the more I think about what I’m putting in my body. I want it to taste good but I also want it to be good for me. Muffins made mostly with white flour and sugar taste great, but they don’t fill me up and they don’t stay with me for more than maybe an hour. So, I’ve been experimenting with a few recipes and have finally come up with something that really works for me and my family. It’s based on this great muffin from A Bountiful Kitchen that you can find here –http://abountifulkitchen.com/2012/02/buttermilk-bran-muffins.html .
This bran muffin is SUPER easy to make, has ingredients in it that are good for you including cholesterol lowering bran and walnuts with good fats for your brain, eggs for protein, and black strap molasses for iron. You can substitute 1/4 Cup of the 1/2 Cup of vegetable oil with olive oil and not notice the difference – which is what I do. One of these with a cup of coffee or tea or a glass of milk and you’re good till lunch!
Delicious Bran Muffins
Makes 16 large bran muffins
1/2 Cup vegetable Oil (can use 1/4 vegetable oil and 1/4 olive oil)
3 cups All Bran Cereal
2 Cups Buttermilk
4 Eggs beaten
4 TBSP Molasses
3/4 Cup of Light Brown Sugar
2 – 4 tsp of vanilla (I use 4 tsp of home made vanilla)
1 1/2 Cups of organic whole wheat flour
1 Cup of organic white flour
2 1/2 tsp of baking soda
2 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of chopped walnuts
18 whole walnuts
1 Cup of Kellogs Special K Pumpkin Spice Crunch crushed.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Spray your 12 muffin pan with Pompeian Grapeseed Oil or PAM nonstick Coconut oil spray. In a big bowl combine the All Bran cereal, buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, molasses, brown sugar and vanilla. Mix it very well and put it aside. In another large bowl combine both of the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Use a whisk and stir for about a minute until all ingredients have been well mixed. Add the cup of chopped walnuts and stir with a spoon until walnuts are completely coated with flour and distributed. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir slowly, just until incorporated. Your batter should be thick. Do not over stir, just until no white flour is visible. Put enough batter in each muffin cup to reach the top. Don’t worry if it is not even. Now center one whole walnut on the top of each muffin. Sprinkle each muffin with a bit of the Special K Pumpkin Spice Crunch. Put the muffins in the 425 degree oven FOR FIVE MINUTES. Then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake them for an additional 10 – 12 minutes. When you take them out test them just to make sure a knife or toothpick comes out clean. Let them sit for 5 minutes and then take them out to cool on a rack. You should be able to get 4 additional muffins out of this batter for a total of 16 muffins.
I usually leave 4 out and then freeze the rest of them in individual sandwich bags. This keeps them just baked fresh. It makes it easy to take one out the night before to eat in the morning, or grab one, even frozen and it will be defrosted by the time you get to work.
I hope you enjoy it!!
