These Moist Bran Muffins are wholesome and delicious. They’re a more dense muffin than any of the cakey kinds of muffins you’re used to. I love that they’re filling, tender and healthy.
We’re muffin maniacs around my house. I often try new and different muffin recipes. My son and my husband enjoy having homemade muffins for breakfast, so I try to find those muffin recipes that aren’t exactly like “cake.” My guys are sweets-lovers and would happily eat Cocoa Krispies, a chocolate muffin and chocolate milk for breakfast if I had it around. I don’t. I found this recipe for Moist Bran Muffins in the King Arthur Flour: Whole Grain Baking cookbook.
A nice feature of this recipe is that you make the batter and then let it sit overnight in the fridge. It keeps for up to a week, so you can scoop it up and bake it as needed and have fresh muffins whenever you like.
Ingredients needed:
- boiling water
- bran cereal (buds instead of flakes)
- raisins
- light or dark brown sugar
- vegetable or canola oil
- whole wheat flour
- baking soda, baking powder and salt
- egg
- buttermilk
- orange juice
The recipe calls for bran cereal. I use Bran Buds, and I don’t believe I would use them for anything else but bran muffins. My son said while he watched me make them… “Are you putting dog food in the muffins?” I teased him a bit as I ate a couple of buds, but truly- these little niblets do look a little like something a dog would find appetizing. Not to worry… they’re good in the muffins!
How to make Moist Bran Muffins:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
If you prefer, you can make 6 jumbo muffins in a 6-cavity muffin tin instead of the 12 regular-sized muffins.
These moist bran muffins freeze well. We put them in individual quart-size freezer baggies and take one out each night to defrost for the following morning. They will be just as moist and fresh as the ones that are fresh-from-the-oven.
Nutritionally, 1 regular-sized muffin has 5 grams of fiber, 7 grams of fat and 242 calories. My guys give these muffins a double-thumbs-up, and I feel good about not giving them “cake” for breakfast! Enjoy!
Favorite Muffin Recipes:
- Sweet Peach Muffins with Brown Sugar- Walnut Streusel
- Sugar- Crusted Raspberry Muffins
- Sour Cream- Double Chocolate Muffins
- Glazed Strawberry- Lemon Streusel Muffins
- Apple Fritter Muffins
Moist Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup boiling water
- 1¼ cups bran cereal (not flakes), divided (I use "Bran Buds")
- ¾ cup raisins
- ¾ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2½ cups whole wheat flour (traditional or white whole wheat)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup orange juice
Instructions
- Pour boiling water over ¾ cup of the bran cereal in a small mixing bowl. Add the raisins, brown sugar and oil. While the bran mixture cools, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Beat the egg with the buttermilk and orange juice in a large measuring cup. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir in the remaining ½ cup bran cereal, then the bran/raisin mixture. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a muffin tin or line with papers and coat the papers with nonstick spray.
- Fill each cup two-thirds full with batter. Bake the muffins until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 26 minutes for regular-sized muffins (35 to 40 minutes for jumbo muffins).
- Remove from oven and allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling, or serve warm, as desired.
Notes
- The batter can be mixed up and held in the refrigerator for up to a week, then scooped and baked as needed, so you can have fresh, warm muffins whenever you like!
- If you prefer, you can make 6 jumbo muffins instead of the 12 regular sized.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a great recipe, will use it again.
I was so happy to find this recipe, as I had a box of bran buds in my pantry. I usually make sure I have all the required ingredients before baking, this time I didn’t.
Thank you for creating a very delicious moist muffin. With respect to your ingenious recipe, may I offer my substitutions. I replaced the buttermilk with yogurt. Dates in place of raisins. A little less sugar. Apple juice in place of orange juice. And, I baked them after mixing everything together. I needed to have a muffin like right now. They turned out so good, and this will be my go to recipe from now on, hopefully without the substitutions, although I am thinking blueberries LOL