Sunday Morning Muffin

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Ingredients

– 2 cups  whole wheat flour
– 1 cup unprocessed wheat bran (also called Miller’s Bran; do not use bran cereal)
– 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal, preferably golden
– 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/4 teaspoon salt, preferably fine sea salt
– 1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar (such as Sugar in the Raw brand)
– 2 large eggs
– 1/2 cup whole or low-fat buttermilk
– 5 tablespoons regular or low fat sour cream or greek yogurt
– 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
– 3 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
– 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas – optional)
– 2/3 cup dried sweetened cranberries
– 2 cups chopped crisp red apples 
– 2 cups chopped fresh carrots 
– 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (optional)

* If you don’t have or want to use flaxseed meal, simply increase the amount of wheat bran by 2 tablespoons (for a total of 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons).

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Grease the wells of a standard size muffin pan with coconut oil.
2. whisk together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, bran, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and turbinado sugar in a large mixing bowl.
3. Lightly beat the eggs in a separate mixing bowl, then whisk in the buttermilk, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Blend in the oil, mixing well. Thoroughly stir in the mashed bananas.
4. Quickly pour the banana mixture over the flour mixture, scatter over the cranberries and pumpkin seeds and stir to form a thick batter. let it stand, uncovered for 2 minutes this allows for the flours to be absorbed into the batter and steadies the rise of the muffin during baking. Divide the batter equally among the muffin pan wells, mounding the portions slightly.
5. Bake the 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins have risen and set and have browned. A wooden pick inserted in the center of a muffin will withdrawal clean or with a few moist crumbs.
6. Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes, then urn them out and cool completely (right side up) on the rack.
7. Make ahead: the muffins can made a day in advance and kept (covered) at room temperature or frozen individuality to preserve freshness (up to two weeks), then defrosted in their wrapping. Reheat, loosely wrapped in aluminum foil, in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes or until warmed through.

** Per muffin (using low-fat buttermilk and sour cream): 200 calories, 6 g protein, 32 g carbohydrates, 8 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 125 mg sodium 4 g dietary fiber 16g sugar

Reference

  1. GOODMAN, M. and HOLLAND, L., 2006. Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook. Workman Publishing Company.