I made these yesterday. These are by far the best bran muffins I've ever had. They remind me of the canned brown bread, but with great texture, mouth feel. Not sweet, but tasty. This recipe makes 12 standard muffins . Fill cups almost full, divided evenly between 12 cups. I didn't have plain yogurt on hand, so I used fat free, sugar free vanilla.
BRAN MUFFINS
2 cups (3oz/86g) wheat bran
1 cup (5oz/141g) oat bran
1 cup (6oz/170g) whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons (12g) baking soda
1 teaspoon (6g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (4g) salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup (5oz by weight/156g) milk
2/3 cup (5-1/2oz/156g) yogurt
1/3 cup (2-1/4oz/65g) canola oil
1/3 cup (3-3/4oz/108g) molasses or cane syrup
1/3 cup (3-3/4oz/108g) honey
1 teaspoon (6g) vanilla extract (optional)
Place oven rack in middle of oven and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a standard size muffin pan (I use canola oil and a silicone pastry brush) or line cups with paper liners (which makes cleaning up a breeze).
Combine wheat bran, oat bran, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside. Combine eggs, milk, yogurt, canola oil, molasses, and honey in a small bowl and mix well. (Note: you can use all honey or all molasses instead if desired.) Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined.
Generously fill muffin cups with batter. (I use a stainless steel scoop--these also work great for portioning out cookie dough.) Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool muffins in pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then carefully remove from pan and serve warm, or let cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy them plain, drizzled with a little honey, or spread with peanut butter and a slather of your favorite jam (apricot is very nice, as is strawberry--right now I'm loving Trader Joe's Organic Reduced Sugar Preserves). Store muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze. (I think they taste even better the second day.) Defrost muffins at room temperature, or in the microwave if you are in a hurry.
Blueberry Bran Muffins
Makes about 10 large muffins. Follow Basic Bran Muffin recipe, but gently fold 1-1/2 cups (7-1/2oz/214g) fresh or frozen blueberries into the batter. There is no need to defrost frozen berries, but do quickly rinse off any ice with cold water. Note to blueberry lovers: I made a batch of these yesterday and, using my MoreMoreMore philosophy, crammed 2 cups of big fat blueberries into the batter--yum.
Blueberry Banana Bran Muffins
Makes 12-14 large and very moist muffins. Follow Basic Bran Muffin recipe, but stir mashed very ripe banana (2 small bananas, about about 9 oz/255g including peel) into wet ingredients. Then gently fold 1-1/2 cups (7-1/2oz/214g) fresh or frozen blueberries into the finished batter. Baking time may need to be increased to 25 to 28 minutes.
Cranberry Orange Bran Muffins
Makes about 10 large muffins. Follow Basic Bran Muffin recipe, but replace the 2/3 cup milk with 2/3 cup orange juice and omit the vanilla extract. Stir 1 cup (4-1/2oz/127g) orange flavored dried cranberries (I recently discovered these at Trader Joe's and think they are absolutely wonderful) or regular dried cranberries to finished batter. For muffins with more orange flavor, stir 1 teaspoon finely chopped or grated orange zest into the wet ingredients.