Bran Muffins
The recipe this is based on is linked above. I did not crush the bran flakes as instructed. However, I have made some changes for stir ins and added flavor.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Line a 12 cupcake pan or spray.
Do not use a hand mixer. Hand stir only.
I chopped up 1 cup of whole nuts. I'd advise 1/2 - 1 cup if using prechopped nuts.
For today's recipe, I used UNSALTED mixed nuts. I chose almond and cashews. I chopped them roughly. Size depends on personal preference. My inspiration were the bran muffins from Dekalb Farmer's Market so I sliced the nuts in half long ways.
I measured out 1+1/3 cups of milk. I had whole milk but have used 2% also.
I added the nuts to the milk for about 20 minutes. I drained off the milk keeping the nuts to fold in later and used the milk for the next step.
I added 1/2 TSP of vanilla to the milk and stirred gently. Then I poured the milk and vanilla over 2 cups of UNCRUSHED bran flakes and let it sit 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl I mixed together 1+1/4 cup flour (AP or bread flour). I stirred in 1/2 CUP of packed dark brown sugar and 1/4 TSP Salt and 3 TSP Baking POWDER, and 1 TSP ground cinnamon. Mix the dry ingredients together.
After the bran flakes have soaked for 5 minutes, gently stir in 1/4 CUP vegetable oil and 1 Large Egg, beaten. Then add the dry mix to the wet and stir gently just enough to mix the dry and wet together.
The next part is where I have to think about what to stir in. Today I decided on blueberry bran muffins for me and blueberry and nut bran muffins for my husband.
I stirred in the fat fresh blueberries, at least 1 CUP. Muffins are a great way to use your blueberries when they are going soft or have shriveled up. Never use blueberries with mold. Feed those to the compost critters. Then I separated the mix into two parts. When the nuts are added to the mix, the volume will increase. If you split the mix half way, then when the nuts are added, the volume of that half will exceed the volume of the other mix with only blueberries. In my case, Lance has 9 nut added muffins and I have 3. Keep this in mind when dividing the mix to accommodate stir ins.
For this recipe I added a pecan on top to identify which muffins had nuts.
When I made strawberry and banana muffins with separate flavors I poured a small amount of batter into each muffin cup. Then I placed the chopped, fresh strawberries or chopped bananas in. At most I used 2 tsp of either because they are so moist. Then I topped with more batter and very gently swirled with a knife end to mix.
Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees until a knife comes out dry.
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