"Mom, can you make bran muffins but without the bran?" my daughter Claire, 8, asked. I laughed. "Do you want blueberry muffins?" I replied. Yup.
Other people love these moist, oat bran muffins with blueberries.
Best Bran Muffins
This is a mighty fine recipe. Make 12-15 muffins. Or bake a few muffins and store the batter in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
1 cup whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups oat bran
3 tablespoons melted butter or oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
¼ cup plain, nonfat yogurt
1 cup blueberries
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease pan well.
Mix flours, soda and salt. Stir in the bran. Gently stir in blueberries. Coating fruit with flour keeps it from sinking to the bottom.
Beat butter or oil, brown sugar and molasses together. Add eggs, yogurt and buttermilk.
Gently mix dry ingredients into liquids just until combined. Fill well-greased muffins tins about ¾ full.
Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes. I baked them for 22 minutes.
Let muffins rest in pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Carefully run a knife around muffins to release them from the pan.
From “Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book.”
Note: To increase moisture and rise, I added an extra egg and nonfat yogurt. Also substituted 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour for 100% whole wheat flour.
During this time being locked in I have been trying to lose weight. Your pictures are the main reason I am gaining weight. I have told Kate I need new t-shirts - she likes to shop and find deals, I hate shopping. She asked why and I told her that the one's I have been shrinking.
I enjoy your posts, thanks for posting them and I hope you do not mind my fantasies about your great cooking causing me to gain weight. I wanted to put more effort into the post than just saying "great job," and thank you for the recipe.
Very funny!
Glad you enjoy my posts. Thanks for your compliment.
Oooooh! I might add some dried cranberries, just for fun! This looks good--thanks!
Good idea. It's fun to modify recipes. You're welcome.
Yesterday I wound up with extra batter.
To my delight, the last three muffins rose higher after the extra batter rested for 30 minutes. I baked 12 muffins, then washed and greased the pan for three muffins. It was worth it.
@LiterateHiker Don't know if you have a Trader Joe's nearby but...my neighbor works for them, helping to develop new products. Lucky me--I'm often given a chance to help ''test'' stuff. Anyway, last week, she brought me some "Ube Mochi" pancake mix. (Sounds awful...tastes really good.) Well, instead of the pancakes...I made muffins and took some of them to her. She loved it!
At the risk of a long story--it's fun to try something different and make a great discovery. Look at you -- who knew an extra ''proofing'' would have such great results?
You're right.
General advice is to rush muffins and quick breads into the oven. Experts say don't delay or the batter won't rise as well.
@LiterateHiker And yet---YOU may have proven them wrong! "General advice" is sometimes inaccurate. Ever heard that you mustn't wash mushrooms because they absorb water? WRONG! A quick spray under the faucet saves a lot of time and there's no difference!