Let’s talk bran, shall we? Specifically, bran muffins are on my mind. After the excesses of a week that became a sort of moveable feast starting with birthday cake, prosecco, and chocolate, and continuing with birthday dinners and food presents (Loved the charcuterie!) only to culminate in a weekend eat-o-rama in Portland, what I really need is just to go in my kitchen, and cook some simple, homemade, whole food.
There are a lot of variations on the basic bran muffin recipe out there. Some are too heavy for me, and some too sweet, but I have a recipe that is just right. I don’t even know where my muffin recipe originally came from anymore. It’s written on a 3×5 card in my old recipe box, and the entire recipe fits on one side of the card–which is a little stained, a little wrinkled from being used once a month or so for as long as I can remember.
These muffins are dead simple to make. I can stir them up and have the muffin tins filled and the dishes washed before the oven is preheated. They are also filling, make a handy portable breakfast, and of course, they are full of healthful dietary fiber.
Now, I’m not one to worry about fat, or to substitute applesauce for anything. Let’s just get that out of the way. There is milk and butter in these muffins. And they are all the better for it. In fact, I recommend that you split one open while still warm and tuck in a generous pat of additional salted butter and squeeze gently, then let it melt just a bit before eating.
You can use whole wheat flour, but I find the resulting muffins a bit dense—it’s all a matter of taste, though. You can also use soy milk in place of the regular milk with no noticeable effect on the finished product. When I make a batch of these muffins, I freeze most of them as soon as they are cooled, and then thaw as needed. They keep very well in the freezer for at least a month, very possibly more, but they are always gone by then.
Bran Muffins
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ cups bran (I like wheat bran, but oat bran works fine)
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 egg, well beaten
- ½ cup honey
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 tbsp soft butter
Combine dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Bake in greased muffin tins at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Makes 1 dozen muffins.
Thanks for posting the recipe, I think I’ll be whipping up a batch of these this evening (as you say, they go together quickly!) I have everything I need in the cupboard. I have a very involved muffin recipe (oat bran, wheat bran, all bran, pumpkin, etc.) that I mix together and freeze raw — my microwave is also a convection oven, so I bake a muffin in the morning and have it fresh baked, rather than letting it thaw from the freezer . . . even fresher!
I love the idea of raw frozen muffins that you can bake fresh in the morning. What a treat!
Looks great!
The bran muffins look great. How much in grams does a cup equate to?. Hope you had a good birthday.
Thanks, Natalie–I don’t know how many grams in a cup offhand…there are a lot of online recipe converters, though. That’s what I use when I’m trying to figure out a European recipe…good luck!
OK, Natalie…I got curious about this and looked it up. 1 cup of flour equals 128 grams, but apparently it varies depending the weight of what you are measuring. So what do your measuring cups look like in the UK compared to ours, I wonder? And do you even call them measuring cups?
Hey Rowdy, I know how you feel. Yesterday, we ordered pizza (regular, unhealthy stuff that was so greasy and super salty). I ate a lot of it along with other things I would never normally eat. Now, I’m going into detox mode. It’s not going to be hard either, b/c, like you, I want whole foods. Maybe our bodies know what we need and make us crave it. Watermelon anyone?
I think you’re right, Stella. Our bodies do usually know what we need, whether it’s vegetables or fiber or even chocolate!
So happy to have found your blog. I love bran muffins and will be making these soon!
I hope you’ll check back and let me know what you think after you try the muffin recipe!
Oooh, I’ve been on the lookout for a “healthy” muffin recipe. These look great! Thanks for sharing :)
So glad you stopped by!
I’ve been on a muffin-kick lately and have been looking for a good bran muffin recipe. Thanks for sharing this one! =)
Cristina-I hope you’ll try them and report back!
I love prosecco!!!! hope you had a great birthday!
but now its time to let us say do some maintenance on the body…lol….and bran muffins certainly do help!! and the truth is they can be pretty darn tasty…Your look delicious!!!
thanks for sharing!
Chef–it’s all about balance, isn’t it? There is only so much feasting one can do!