Without Further Ado: Kitchen Sink Blueberry Walnut Bran Muffins

I blame Elton.  I have had “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” stuck in my head all day.  I’ve also been stuffing my face with blueberry bran muffins.  For this, I can really only blame myself.  I can’t help it; I have a soft spot for bran—and for certain Elton John lyrical snacks. 

I’ve thought about posting the recipe for these muffins for a while, but feared they were too plain Jane.  But they’re—and I hesitate to say this—too useful not to share.  I hate to describe any food as such.  It sounds a bit soulless.  So let’s just say I have lovingly named them “Kitchen Sink Bran Muffins” because you can throw almost anything into the batter and they’ll just puff up and smile back at you from their tins. 

These muffins can do no wrong. Which makes me sound a bit like a pageant mom.  Truth be told, I secretly fear that one day they’ll fall flat on their little muffin bottoms.  

I will open the oven only to reveal a sad state of bran.  I’ll have pushed the poor dears to the brink. They’ll be dry and lifeless.  Or too gummy, bloated with fruit.  And this will reflect poorly on me.  As a baker.  An eater.  A person.  People will start gossiping that I don’t always level off flour when I bake.  Or that I pour vanilla extract straight into the mixing bowl: no measuring spoon in sight.  That I’m a savage in the kitchen.  And they might be right.

In truth, I don’t even remember where I found the original recipe.  I’ve doctored it so much along the way, it probably wouldn’t even recognize itself.  I’ve scribbled.  And rewritten.  Crossed out and underlined.  But it remains a wonderful recipe that behaves very well for cooks who have a hard time sticking to instructions.  I've thrown these muffins some odd ingredients, arguably one too many fiery batons.  But they haven't even blinked.

This is a recipe that has hung with me since the beginning of my baking.  So, yes, I’m decidedly biased.  A bran muffin stage mom in her own right. Nevertheless, they have yet to disappoint. I suspect they’re not the kind.  They couldn’t if they tried.  And even if they did, I’d love them anyways. 

Kitchen Sink Bran Muffins, This Time Presenting: Blueberry Walnut

Ingredients:

1.25 cup bran

1 cup flour (this time: 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 whole wheat)

2.5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp spices (this time: 3/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg)

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup milk (this time: whole milk)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup honey

2 tbsp sugar (this time: brown sugar)

1/4 cup oil (this time: canola oil)

1.5 cup cut up fruit and/or grated vegetables (this time: all frozen blueberries)

1/4 cup nuts, roughly chopped or seeds (this time: walnuts)  

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350.  Combine bran, flour, baking powder, spices and salt in a medium bowl.  In a large bowl, combine milk, eggs, honey, sugar and oil; fold your flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined (about 10 turns with a spatula); gently fold in the fruit/vegetables and nuts.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.

Makes 1 dozen

Notes:

-This is an everyday eating-type of bran muffin.  It's hearty.  It's got guts.  A special occasion bran muffin can be found here.  (I know, you didn't think there was such a thing.  And I'm not certain there is.  It's just a little fancy.)

-I'll often grate ~1/2 cup zucchini or carrots and add them along with 1 cup fruit.  Diced apples are nice, too.  If you are using frozen fruit (as I did with the blueberries) you can mix them straight into the batter, no defrosting necessary.  It just may take a wee bit longer to cook.

-Because I eat these so often (and I am a dietitian, after all) I calculated the nutrition info awhile back and thought I'd pass it along, or what I've managed to save of the calculation.  They have about 200 calories and 4 grams of fiber.  Not bad for a muffin.  More importantly, I enjoy eating them.

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Bran Muffin

Yes, the road may be long—with many a winding turn—but the emergence of this muffin is surely a sign that better times are around the bend. While some bran muffins are known for their “tough love,” being dry, often dense, and occasionally burdensome, this muffin is nothing of the sort. In fact, it sort of coddles. I might even go so far as to call it seductive.

I’ve had a muffin (okay, two) daily since they came to be. I love them, though I can’t put my finger on exactly why; I suppose the crème fraîche helps, as does the fruit soaked in framboise. Leave it to the French to lend a certain je ne sais quoi to a muffin made of bran.

And leave it to Joanne Chang to create another baked good masterpiece, without even the use of any butter whatsoever. How she managed to make a light, cake-like bran muffin is beyond me. And the texture the millet imparts is brilliant. You may be tempted to omit it because of its slight obscurity: don’t if you can help it.

Though, the perfectly round grains will bounce all over your kitchen, so don’t bother to get out your broom until the last bran muffin has been baked and put away (or eaten). You wouldn’t believe the places I’ve found those little yellow balls.

I admit I was initially concerned that all this bran was turning me into a bore, my love for a muffin with a crunchy millet topping getting deeper by the bite. But then I thought: who cares? They really are that good. Yes folks, life—when eating bran—is good.

So, on we go. My existence, at times, is still a bit cumbersome, but it’s getting better. At any rate, I now have this muffin: and he won't encumber me. In fact, he doesn’t weigh me down at all. He ain’t heavy, he’s my muffin.

Bran Muffins with Millet and Framboise-Soaked Fruit

Adapted from Joanne Chang's cookbook Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe

2-1/2 cups wheat bran

1-1/4 cups whole milk

1 cup crème fraîche

3/4 cup 0 or 2% greek yogurt

2 eggs

1 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup raisins

~1/3 cup framboise

2-1/3 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)

2 tbsp molassess (light or dark)

~1/4 cup millet

~2 tbsp cup seeds, such as sesame or flax

~2 tbsp cup slivered almonds

In a medium bowl, stir together bran, milk, crème fraîche, yogurt and eggs. Meanwhile, heat dried cherries and raisins in a small saucepan with framboise for about 5 minutes, until they start to plump, adding additional framboise if needed. Let both the bran mixture and dried fruit sit for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

During this time, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. After 30 minutes, add the brown sugar and molasses to the bran mixture, stirring thoroughly until well combined; drain the dried fruit and add to mixture. Add the bran mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined; do not over mix. Spoon batter into muffin tins lined with muffin liners and top with millet, seeds and almonds. Bake about 30-35 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen muffins

Notes:

-This muffin is not very sweet; it's the real deal. The bran doesn't hide in sugar, it embraces itself.

-Any combination of dried fruit, nuts and seeds would work magic here. Banana chunks would also be lovely.

-Don't omit the step of letting the bran sit; have patience, grasshopper. This allowed the bran to soak up some liquid and soften.