Guest house recipes: Molasses Spice Cranberry Bran Muffins

9/3/2018 0 Comments

Guest house recipes: Molasses Spice Cranberry Bran Muffins

April enjoys baking, and we both like having not-too-sweet muffins on hand for quick breakfasts or an afternoon snack. Here is one of the recipes we made recently. If you like this recipe, there's a 1-page printable download at the bottom of this post.

Molasses Spice Cranberry Bran Muffins
From the kitchen of Sanctuary Farm & Rest House

Makes 24 Muffins
15-18 minutes at 400°

Preheat oven to 400° while mixing up the muffin batter.

In a large bowl, combine thoroughly and let stand for 10-15 minutes:
1 2/3 c. wheat bran
  1 c. boiling water (make a pot of tea to enjoy with the muffins?)
Set aside so that the bran absorbs the water.
In another large bowl, mix thoroughly:
  1 ¾ c. whole wheat flour
  ½ c. white/all purpose flour
  2 ½ tsp. baking soda
  ½ tsp. salt
  ½-3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  ½-3/4 tsp. ground cloves (or substitute both spices for 1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice)
Set dry mixture aside. Enjoy a cup of tea & line muffin tins while waiting for the 15 minutes to be up.
Whisk into the bran mixture:
  1 c. molasses
  A drizzle of honey (optional)
  6 Tbsp. grape seed or other healthy oil
  ¼ c. dark brown sugar (reduce as needed)
Then whisk in:
  2 eggs
Stir in:
  1 c. dried cranberries
Add dry ingredient mixture to bran-egg-cranberry mixture and stir just enough to moisten flour. Batter will be very thick but also runny. Divide mixture between 24 muffin cups. Bake 15-18 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from pans to serve warm, or to cool on a rack. These are very good with butter or plain.

Notes

Set a timer for this muffin, as the dark brown color isn’t a good indicator of done-ness.
The moisture content means they spoil quickly in hot weather so store them in the freezer or refrigerator if they won’t be eaten in about three days.
Or store batter in refrigerator for up to 1 week and bake as needed.