Molasses Raisin Bran Muffins

October 30, 2006 at 5:45 pm (AMA, breakfast, B_minus (2.5 stars), Dessert, Muffins and quick breads, Quick weeknight recipe)

These bran muffins have a noticeable molasses flavor and a moist crumb. Based on a recipe from AMA family cookbook.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat 12 muffin cups with vegetable oil spray or line with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together:

• 1 1/4 cups wheat bran
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt (a little too salty?)
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

In small bowl whisk together until smooth:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Whisk in:

• 1/4 cup honey (use the same cup you measured the oil in)
• 1/4 cup molasses (ditto)
• 1 cup nonfat buttermilk

When well mixed, stir in

• 1/2 cup raisins

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until no specks of flour remain. Do not overmix. Spoon into the muffin tins, filling them about 3/4 full.
Bake until the muffins are a dark brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. These muffins can be refrigerated for 1 day or frozen for 2 weeks.

My Notes

I didn’t have buttermilk so I substituted 3/4 cup nonfat yogurt and 1/4 cup unsweetened soymilk. I skimped just a bit on the 1/2 tsp. salt as well. The muffins are small but make a pretty nice snack. I like the bran texture, and the taste is pretty good. These aren’t the ultimate bran muffins but I enjoy them. They’re not quite decadent enough for dessert, unless they were served maybe with an icing or compote or side of fruit or something. They’d be a nice addition to breakfast as well, except they’re pretty low in protein (only 9% of the calories are from protein, and almost 30% are from fat, plus they have 3.5g fiber).

For slightly larger muffins, it might be worth multiplying this recipe by 1.25…. or going the other way and making them smaller in a mini-muffin tin. I’d like to try making these vegan sometime, using flax seeds.

Rating: B