Muffling

As some of you may know, I have recently diminished the amount of time spent at my job of two years. The reason? To pursue baking. At a farewell dinner for me and another departing coworker, my boss disclosed that she has a bran muffin for lunch every day. Muffins! A language I speak. With this revelation came newfound motivation for yours truly to win employee of the year status. As much as I adore fattening treats like dough filled cupcakes, I have been known to dabble in the healthier side of baked-things. Bran is one item with which I have not previously experimented. No time like the present! I investigated a few different recipes; the first was Ina Garten's banana bran muffins. These sounded slightly more enticing than a plain, bland, raisin-filled muffin. However, as with many of Ina's recipes, the long list of ingredients was intimidating. I perused an allrecipes.com recipe which appeared far more manageable. I ultimately used the allrecipes guidance, with some inspiration from Ina.

Banana-Pecan Bran Muffins

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/classic-bran-muffins/

- 1 1/2 cups wheat bran

- 1 cup buttermilk

- 1/3 cup vegetable oil

- 1 egg

- 2/3 cup brown sugar

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 cup flour

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 banana, cut into chunks

- 1/2 cup or so pecans, roughly chopped (I happened to have some pecans lying around. Despite my usual no-nuts policy in otherwise nut-free baked goods, in this case it seemed appropriate)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin - in the absence of spray grease, I find vegetable oil to be an effective anti-stick agent for muffins.

Whisk the wheat bran and buttermilk in a bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes.

 

Mix the oil, egg, brown sugar and vanilla in a separate bowl (liquid cup measure should do the trick). Add this to the buttermilk mixture and combine. Add the flour, b.s., b.p, and salt and mix until just combined. Lastly, add the nuts and banana.

 

 Fill each muffin holder in the pan about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Feed to your roommates and co-workers.