Bran Muffins

I get the sense you either love them or hate them!  

With the exception of when I was a kid, I’ve always had an affinity for bran muffins.  To the point where I am constantly trying new recipes; on the hunt for the best ones.  This latest variation is my current fave.  It incorporates unsweetened apple sauce to reduce the amount of oil needed and also replaces half of the regular bran with spelt bran, which I hadn’t used before.  The apple-sauce made these muffins even moister and the spelt bran added a little more texture to the final product.

These are really simple to whip up and I make them (or some variation) on a weekly basis.

In a nutshell, first combine all the dry ingredients using a wire whisk to omit having to sift, set aside:

Then focus on the wet ingredients, starting with the oil, apple-sauce and sugar:

Once combined, add the remaining liquids - egg, yoghurt and molasses:

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in one shot and stir until just combined.  Do not over mix as this results in a tougher muffin.

Then spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes at 400 C.

 Best served warm.

Enjoy!

Bran Muffins

Yields 12

Preparation Time – 10 Minutes

Cooking Time – 20 Minutes

Ingredients

• ¼ Cup Canola Oil
• ¼ Cup Unsweetened Apple-sauce
• ¼ Cup Demerrera Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 Cup Mediterranean Plain Yoghurt
• ¼ Cup Molasses
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• ½ Cup Bran
• ½ Cup Spelt Bran
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• ¼ Teaspoon Salt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400˚ C.
2. Line muffin tins and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, bran, spelt bran, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until combined.  Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, applesauce and brown sugar.  Once combined, add the egg, yoghurt and molasses and whisk until incorporated.  Add the dry mixed in one go and fold in.
5. Fill muffin tins 2/3 and bake for 20 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, before transferring to a rack to cool completely.  

* Notes

• Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Sour Cream Bran Muffins.