Date and bran muffins

Moist, dense, packed with fibre, sweet muffins. The batter has to be prepared day ahead. So in the morning you can easily bake them, without preparation mess. Easy to make, healthy ... what else to say.. juts give them a try.

Recipe comes form "The Australian Women's Weekly. Muffins"

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 185g flour
• 1 tsp soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon  
• 110g caster sugar
• 105g wheat bran
• 120g chopped dates
• 125 ml oil
• 375 ml buttermilk
• 1 egg

Put all ingredients into a bowl, stir them until all combined. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

Next morning. Preheat the oven to 200C.

Line with paper cases or slightly grease the muffin.

Spoon the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes. When ready remove form the oven set aside for a few minutes to cool the muffins down and enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Honey and lemon muffins

Very tasty, fluffy cake, packed with fibre. Perfect snack on breakfast to go. And of course easy to make. The recipe comes form 'Easy muffins' cookbook.

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 50g sugar
• 25g butter
• 150ml buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp honey
• 1 lemon
• 225g flour
• 75g bran or wheat bran (I used wheat bran)
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Melt the butter and set aside to cool down. Put the sugar into a big bowl stir in the cooled butter. The pour in the buttermilk, break in the eggs and add honey and freshly great lemon zest. Mix all the ingredients together. 

In separate bowl whisk together the flour, bran and baking powder. Pour in the wet ingredients and mix until just moist.

Spoon the batter into muffin tin, 3/4 full. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

While the muffins are still in the oven prepare the lemon and honey glaze.

Ingredients for lemon and honey glaze:

•  2 tbsp honey
• freshly squeezed lemon juice

Place the honey and lemon juice in a small bowl and mix them together until combined. 

Drizzle this mixture over each muffin top while they still hot.

Enjoy !

Fig nugget muffins

In my opinion they are the tastiest healthy muffins I have ever baked. They were soft, moist with lovely orange scent, packed with dry fruits and nuts. The recipe comes form EatingWell website.

Ingredients for fig filling:

• 150g dry figs
• 2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts or walnuts
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tbsp honey

Grate the orange zest and seat aside you will need it for the batter. Squeeze the orange juice and set aside.

Put the figs into blender, add the nuts and blend them until smooth. Then add the cinnamon, orange juice and honey and blend again. Set aside.

Ingredients for muffin batter:

• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 190g brown sugar
• 250ml low - fat yogurt
• 150ml canola oil
• orange zest
• 75ml orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 60g oat or wheat bran
• 115g wholegrain flour
• 115g plain flour
• 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp chopped nuts (walnuts or hazelnuts) to sprinkle

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line muffin tin with paper cases. 

Put the egg, egg white and sugar into a bowl and beat until smooth. Then add the yogurt, oil, orange zest, orange juice, vanilla and stir well. At last but not at least add the wheat bran. Set aside.

In separate bowl whisk the flours, baking powder, soda and salt. Whisk them well and add into a bowl with wet ingredients. Stir until just moist. Spoon one tablespoon of batter into paper cases the place one teaspoon of fig paste and cover with batter. Do not overload the muffin cases. Fill up to 3/4 full. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until well risen.

 Enjoy !

Bran muffins with bananas, raisins, walnuts and black treacle

This is another recipe for banana and bran muffins on my blog. I wanted to try this one as well because those muffins are packed with goodies and sound very healthy at the same time. The recipe comes from Ina Garten colection. 

Ingredients for 12 -18 muffins:

• 40g wheat bran
• 225ml buttermilk
• 55g soft butter
• 60g light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 6 tbsp black treacle
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 210g flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 120g raisins
• 2 bananas
• 50g walnuts

Combine buttermilk and wheat bran and set aside.

Dice the bananas, chop the walnuts and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180C. line muffin tin with paper cases.

In an electric mixer bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, for about 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed and add one egg at the time. After the eggs add the black treacle, orange zest, vanilla and bran/buttermilk mixture. Combine all ingredients.

In separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Gently fold in the flour mixture into wet ingredients mixture. Do not over mix it. Fold in the bananas, walnuts and raisins with rubber spatula.

Spoon the batter into paper cases, fill them to the top and bake for 25 minutes.

Enjoy !

All-bran muffins

This is very easy to make recipe and it comes from Kellogg's website.  These muffins were approved by my children and their friends, so I think they might be good option for lunch boxes. Muffins were not only tasty for children but adults liked them, as well. Warm they were fluffy, cold they became a little bit thick but it did not affected their taste. Muffins were sweet and moisture. I think the best option is to give them a try. 

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 185g flour
• 110g brown sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 160g All-bran Kellogg's cereal or similar
• 310 ml milk
• 2 egg whites
• 60 ml sunflower oil

Muffin batter before baking

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

 

Sift All-bran Kellogg's cereal and pour the milk, let them soak for 2 min.

 

In a meantime sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into big bowl and whisk all ingredients together. 

Add the egg whites and oil to the cereal mixture and stir well. Sift dry ingredients into this mixture and combine the together. Spoon the batter into paper cases. Fill the evenly, muffins do not rise a lot. Bake them for 20 min. Check with wooden toothpick if batter is baked inside. These muffins are very good warm. Enjoy !

 

Spicy banana and wheat bran mini muffins

These muffin's are originally called Peter's favourites muffins. I found the recipe on this website. Peter, author's nephew loved them since he was a small boy. I decided to try if my girls would like them too. This time my muffins are mini size which help my youngest to hold one in her palms. I know, I know... that these are sweets again, but at least there is some fibre in them. Muffins are very tasty, fluffy and sweet.

Ingredients for 18 mini muffins:

• 90g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 45g brown sugar
• 20g wheat bran *
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 60 ml warmed milk
• 25g butter
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 mashed banana
• 1 egg

* originally it should be bran flakes, but I ate them for breakfast so replaced them with wheat bran. I think it did not change the flavour only texture of these muffins was slightly different 

Heat up the oven to 200C. Spray mini muffin tin with baking spray or grease muffin holes.

The flour, baking powder, salt, spices, sugar, wheat bran place in a big bowl and combine all together.

Wit a fork mash the banana, set aside. Beat the egg, set aside. Warm up the milk in microwave and add the soda, set aside. Melt the butter and golden syrup together. Pour wet ingredients into mixture of dry one, combine them. Fold in the banana and egg.

Spoon the batter into muffin tin holes. Bake for 10-12 min. Cool down on wire rack.

Little tester