The Ultimate Bran Muffins

Ok, so a while back I went online and was looking for some good recipes, and I came across this bran muffin recipe on foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com. YUM! Whole grains are really good for us and I am trying to be a good kid and make sure Doug and I get our share of the good stuff. I've been making these and freezing them once or twice a month for the past 6 or 7 months. It was so funny b/c the other day I was at the grocery store and I decided to get festive and buy a few Halloween muffin cups. The girl at the register was really happy and social and asked if I was making cupcakes. :) I told her it was just another way to jazz up my bran muffins- the truth is out. heh heh heh
This morning, about the only things that sounded good to me were a couple of thawed, reheated bran muffins and a pot of peppermint herbal tea (with honey- best thing I know for being sick). Yum! I'll probably wash that all down with some cough syrup here in a bit.

A note- bran is something you can find at every grocery store but the boxed stuff is expensive. There's a store close to my house that has bulk bins of grains and nuts and flours. I found buying my bran there saved me a ton of money. Hopefully there is something like that near you.

The basic recipe for the muffins is quite good but I like to add stuff to it. Here it is:

Not Your Typical Bran Muffins

(Preheat oven to 375 degrees)

2 c. wheat bran
1 c. oat bran
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Mix the above in a large bowl and set aside. At this point I also sometimes add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves- whatever- to taste. :) Sometimes just adding alittle spice makes the muffins taste like gingerbread or a spice cake.

In a smaller bowl, combine the following and mix well:
2/3 c. milk
2/3 c. plain lowfat yogurt
1/3 c. canola oil
1/3 c. molasses
1/3 c. honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

***At this point, I vary the recipe depending on my mood. You can add 1 to 1 1/2 cups fruit (blueberries, bananas, etc.) to the wet ingredients or you can even change the basic recipe by substituting some of the oil w/ applesauce or one of the eggs w/ two egg whites. I find that while that cuts down a bit of the fat content, it also can make these already moist muffins even more moist- almost like a cake. You can also use 2/3 honey or 2/3 molasses instead of 1/3 cup of both. My most recent adventure with this recipe involved adding 1 cup shredded carrot and a little less than 1/2 cup raisins, which with a little added spice made my muffins positively scrumptious and much like carrot cake. Carrot cake w/ gusto. :) Just a sidenote- don't make your muffins too scrumptious or you might forget that they are chock full of fiber.
Another yummy-sounding variation that I found on that same blog was a cranberry orange bran muffin, where you replace the milk with orange juice and omit the vanilla, and then add 1 c. dried cranberries and some orange zest.***

Ok, after that tangent, now you combine the wet and dry ingredients in the large bowl. Mix with a spoon or rubber spatula until just mixed. Bake 20 to 25 minutes- may need a little longer (28-30 minutes) if you added fruit. I always use the toothpick test anyway, just to be safe. Cool in pan 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on cooling rack. Store in airtight container for a few days or freeze. Makes 24 regular-sized muffins.

And there you have it. Apparently we are out of cough syrup, so I am off to the store and signing off for now.