Applesauce Bran Muffins


It has been a crazy busy couple of weeks for me so I wasn’t in my kitchen much lately. First, we had family visiting for a week which is always fun, then the day after our family left I headed to the States for a week to visit our elderly parents and complete a few errands. I am back in Umbria now and am finally over my jet lag. Before I left Italy however, we were experiencing the hottest summer in over ninety years. Every day the temperatures soared over a hundred degrees, and since our farmhouse does not have air conditioning, it was too hot to do much of anything but sit around and complain. I certainly wasn’t able to turn on the stove during our heat wave! Thankfully the temperatures have finally dropped to normal now, and although eighty-five degrees certainly isn’t cold, after weeks of hundred degree temperatures it feels lovely!

A few weeks ago I posted a recipe for Date Nut Loaf which was one of my favorite treats growing up. Bran muffins were another item that I loved to bake when I first started cooking as a teenager. Bran muffins can be dry and boring, but these muffins made with applesauce and studied with chopped apples and raisins are very moist and delicious. I often bake a double batch and freeze most of them for later. These muffins do freeze really well, and I like to take a few out of the freezer to enjoy for breakfast every few weeks. All Bran cereal wasn’t available in Italy until just a few years ago, but once I was able to buy it here I started baking these tasty muffins again. You can replace the raisins with dried cranberries, or even chopped dried figs or prunes if you prefer. I cannot buy buttermilk here in Italy, so I make my own by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk and letting it sit for ten minutes.

Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2017

Applesauce Bran Muffins

Applesauce Bran Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups All Bran Cereal
  • 3/4 Cup Buttermilk (See Notes Above)
  • 1/2 Cup Applesauce
  • 1/2 Cup Honey
  • 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1 1/2 Cups White Spelt Flour (Or All-purpose Flour)
  • 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Cup Raisins
  • 1 Large Apple, Peeled, Cored, & Diced

Optional Topping:

  • 1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a muffin tin with muffin papers or coat with baking spray.
  2. Whisk together the cereal, buttermilk, applesauce, honey, oil, and eggs in a large bowl, then let sit for ten minutes.
  3. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl until combined, then add the wet ingredients.
  4. Stir just until combined, then stir in the raisins and diced apple.
  5. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups, then sprinkle the tops with the chopped walnuts.
  6. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  7. Cool for 15 minutes then enjoy.

Did you make this recipe?

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4 Comments

  1. Hello,
    I love bran muffins but wanted to know when you specify All Bran Cereal is that actually cereal from a box? I normally use bran I buy in bulk from the store. Looks a bit like fine oatmeal? Please let me know. Dying to try this recipe. Thank you in advance. Iris.

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