Just Awesome Raisin Bran Muffins

PREP TIME 15 mins | COOK TIME 22 mins | TOTAL TIME 37 mins | SERVES 12

When I want a muffin, I mean exactly these: moist, tasty, packed with healthy stuff but still totally glorious. I have a big bag of wheat bran in the freezer* leftover from developing recipes for Uncomplicated. Literally every time I open the freezer — to get freezies, raspberries, gin, whatever — I see the bran and crave my mom’s raisin bran muffins. So eventually, I had to bake them.

Of course, wouldn’t you know that mom’s recipe was the old classic from the top of the green Quaker bran box, now long out of circulation. I had to make this one up, and I have no idea if it’s anywhere close to the original, but man it’s delicious. The house smells like a dream bakery, and the muffins are just little crispy on the top edges, and packed with moisture, flavour, and raisins.

These are so good I ate one two three then stashed the rest in the freezer to save myself from colon overload. So now instead of craving muffins every time I open the freezer, I’ll just eat one!

Does anyone else remember that recipe?

Just Awesome Raisin Bran Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup (125 g) raisins

• 1 ¼ cups wheat bran

• 1 cup (150 g) flour

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon ginger (optional)

• 2 eggs

• ¼ cup (60 g) canola oil

• ¼ cup (60 g) brown sugar

• ¼ cup (95 g) molasses

• 1 cup (225 g) plain yogurt
  

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or grease it with baking spray.

2. Cover the raisins with very hot or boiling water. Let stand for 10 min, then drain.

3. Whisk the bran, flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, brown sugar and molasses together until smooth. Whisk in the yogurt, then stir in the drained raisins.

4. Add the egg mixture into the bran mixture and stir until it's just combined. Immediately scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 18 to 22 min or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of one muffin (choose one from the middle of the pan) comes almost almost clean. It's ok if it's still a little damp-looking at the tip.

5. Let cool 5 min then transfer to a rack to cool completely. I double-dare you not to eat one right away.

TIP: Please, I beg you: do not use anything less than 2% yogurt. (Ever). I use Astro's Balkan-style deliciousness, which is between 6% and 7% mf. Yum.

*Store wheat bran in the freezer to keep it fresh and un-rancid longer.

Click below for a printable version of this recipe.
Just Awesome Raisin Bran Muffins