Title: Berry Bran Muffins
Categories: Cake Egg Brunch Muffins Bread
Yield: 1 Servings
| 50 | ml | Shortening [may use oil, but muffins will |
| 125 | ml | Brown sugar (firmly packed) |
| 50 | ml | Molasses |
| 2 | | Eggs, unbeaten |
| 250 | ml | Milk |
| 1 1/2 | c | Quaker natural wheat bran "375 ml [I usual |
| 1 | c | Flour" |
| 7 | ml | Baking powder |
| 2 | ml | Baking soda |
| 3 | ml | Salt [this can be omitted with no apparent |
| 1 | ml | Cinnamon (optional) [or try your own favou |
| 1 | ml | Ginger |
| 125 | ml | Raisins (optional) [or substitute chopped |
1. Preheat oven to 400 øC . 2. Cream shortening and brown sugar. Add
molasses and eggs then beat together well. 3. Add milk then bran. [The
wheat bran should have a chance to soak a little to soften it, so I prepare
the muffin pans at this point]. 4. Combine remaining dry ingredients in
smaller bowl. Add fruit and coat with flour mixture. 5. Add flour mixture
(and fruit) to wet mixture and fold together just enough to moisten all the
dry ingredients. [Too much mixing will work the gluten and the muffins will
not be crumbly]. 6. Place mixture in greased [Pam does a good job] muffin
pans about 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes. [I have found that I get
best results with oven set just under 400 øC mark and cook for full 20
minutes. Ovens vary]. Author's Notes: This recipe was on the side of the
Quaker natural wheat bran box. I have found that substituting various fruit
for the optional raisins makes an excellent berry-bran muffin. My comments
are enclosed in square brackets. [Uh oh, I usually use square brackets to
denote my comments. ~aem ]] I use rhubarb when in season, select thin red
stocks and chop into sections, apples chopped into cubes, wild blueberries
(frozen whole), cherries (halved), etc. A mix of rhubarb, apples and
blueberries turned out quite well. You can use more of some fruit than
others. If the fruit turns mushy in cooking you must use less or the
muffins will not stay together. Put in as much fruit as you can while
making muffins that do not disintegrate, the 1/2 cup is a good starting
point. Add fruit to the dry ingredients so that chunks are coated with
flour before folding into wet. Difficulty
: moderate. Precision : measure ingredients. Recipe by: J. Anthony
Fitzgerald jaf@UNB.ca