top of the muffin

To You!!



In my neverending quest for a breakfast that is not only healthy, tasty, and satisfying, but that I might actually also remember to eat on a regular basis, tonight I developed a recipe for some little mounds of fibery goodness - Cranberry-Walnut Bran Muffins. I think these babies might fulfill some of my breakfast needs. They are easily portable, reasonably satisfying, totally healthy, and perfectly tasty. Most of the time when I see muffins at cafes or at one of the numerous bakeries at Chelsea Market in the morning, they are either as big as my head, sickly sweet, or probably full of fat. The only way to control all of these things seems to be to make them myself. Recipe after the jump:

Cranberry-Walnut Bran Muffins
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar (I used a little less than this, as I don't like anything particularly sweet for breakfast. The amount I give here still gives you a low amount of sugar while maintaining a nice sweetness. You could also substitute honey for sugar for a nice flavor.)
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/3 cups chopped walnuts
4 cups bran flake cereal (look for high fiber and low sugar. I used Arrowhead Mills Organic Oat Bran Flakes)
2 cups lowfat buttermilk
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tbsp orange zest

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400. In a small bowl, combine the dried cranberries with the orange juice and set aside to soak while you prepare the other ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, spices, walnuts and bran flakes. Drain the cranberries and fold into the dry ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the two eggs, then add the buttermilk, orange zest, and canola oil and whisk until well combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture. Stir until just combined.

Line a muffin tin with muffin papers or spray the cups with cooking spray. Using an ice cream scoop, drop a rounded mound of batter into each paper. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes depending on the size. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 24 small or 18 medium muffins.