What I Do For Love All Bran Cereal Muffins
drbabs
Photo by James Ransom
- Serves
- 12
- Prep Time
- 30 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 Minutes
One of my husband's favorite breakfast foods is a bran muffin. He had been buying them at the grocery store (ick). So I set out to make a bran muffin he would really like. I tried a bunch of recipes, but couldn't really capture the sweet moist character of a mass-produced muffin (even though mine tasted better and were certainly healthier). I found a recipe in "Cook's Illustrated" called Better Bran muffins (May 2007), and started making that one, with some variations. While I still use its not-so-secret ingredient--All Bran cereal-- I've modified the recipe to make it my own. My husband adores these muffins, so now I'm making them nearly every week. I call them "What I Do For Love" because when the muffin tin goes into the oven, there's a huge mess to be cleaned up--multiple ingredients to put away, many dishes to wash, a food processor to clean. But these are delicious and they freeze well. (And in the photo, the pumpkin seeds are a little dark because I overcooked them--oops!--they still tasted good!)
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
- 2 cup All Bran cereal
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoon wheat germ
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch ground clove
- 1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup raisins or sultanas, plumped in microwave (30 seconds) with 1/4 cup of orange juice
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup plain yogurt (don't use greek yogurt or the muffins will be too dense.)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Featured Video
WHO: drbabs, an optometrist from Huntington, NY who cooks up a storm of deliciousness in her spare time.
WHAT: A better bran muffin, created to cure her store-bought muffin-eating husband of his bad habit.
HOW: As drbabs mentions, these muffins are a bit of a process -- large bowl, medium bowl, small bowl, whisk, spoons, muffin tins -- but you would do anything for love, wouldn't you?
WHY WE LOVE IT: Light, airy, and chock full of wheat germ, All-Bran and other oldy and goody all-stars of the 80s health food movement, these muffins are a yummy and virtuous way to start the day.
Directions
- Step 1
Melt butter and allow it to cool.
- Step 2
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 400° F. Toast pumpkin seeds on cookie sheet while oven is heating, removing them when they are lightly toasted and beginning to puff a little.
- Step 3
Line muffin pan with paper liners.
- Step 4
Process 1 cup of All Bran cereal in food processor until finely ground, about a minute.
- Step 5
In large bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, clove, cocoa powder and wheat germ. Set aside.
- Step 6
In medium bowl (see what I mean?), whisk eggs till blended. Add brown sugar, molasses, vanilla and orange zest. Whisk till mixture is thick, about 30 seconds. Add melted butter. Whisk to combine. Add yogurt. Whisk to combine. Stir in processed cereal and 1 cup of unprocessed cereal. Let mixture sit until entirely moist—about 5 minutes.
- Step 7
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently fold with rubber spatula until batter is combined and evenly moistened. Stir in raisins and juice if using.
- Step 8
Using a 1/3 cup measure, drop batter into muffin cups forming soft mounds. Don't level surface. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds over the tops of the muffins.
- Step 9
Bake 16-20 minutes, until muffins are dark golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached.