The muffins store well in the freezer, and we take one or two out every evening, to enjoy the next day.
Applesauce Bran Muffins
- Tip: You don’t need muffin papers (baking cups) for these. Just grease the tins well. (I use baking spray)
Makes 12 muffins Prep: 15 min Cook: 15-20 min
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed
- 3/4 cup wheat bran
- 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1-1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice (or cinnamon)
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey (or 1/4 cup each)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper baking cups.
- In a large bowl, combine flax, wheat bran, flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and pumpkin spice.
- In a medium bowl, combine applesauce, milk, molasses, oil and eggs.
- Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
- Spoon into prepared muffin tin and bake for 15–20 minutes.
- Let muffins rest in the tin for about 5 minutes, then take them out, to cool on a baking rack.
My stove runs a bit hot, so I put the oven a little under 400°F. And they’re done after 15 minutes.
Photos – Preparing the Muffins
In the photo below, I’ve got the dry ingredients in the large silver bowl, and the wet ingredients in the smaller white bowl.
In the next photo, I’ve added the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- Important: Don’t over mix – just stir until all the dry ingredients are moistened.
I love this big silicone spoon! It has a sturdy handle, but it’s flexible at the spoon end. That makes it perfect for stirring, and for scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Next, fill the greased muffin tins. The recipe fills 12 standard muffin cups, almost to the top.
- If any batter drips onto the pan, wipe it off before you put it into the oven. That will make your clean up easier later!
And here are the finished Applesauce Bran Muffins. They rise nicely, then go down a little as they cool.
- They come out of the muffin tin easily, if you greased it well. Give each muffin a gentle twist, as you pull up, to take them out.
- I let them cool completely, then freeze most of them.
- Take a couple out of the freezer at night, and store them in a bread bag, so they’re ready for breakfast the next day.
Comparing Nutrients
Keith has to watch his intake of potassium and phosphorus, so I calculated the nutrients for two different versions of these muffins.
- Version 1 uses Whole Wheat Flour with Raisins
- Version 2 uses All Purpose Flour with Dried Cranberries
Better for Us
Even though the whole wheat version has a bit more calcium, fibre and protein, the all purpose with cranberry version works better for our requirements.
- The potassium and phosphorus levels are much lower, when I use all purpose flour with dried cranberries
IMPORTANT
- Check with your health specialists, to see what’s best for you and your dietary needs!
- Also, check the nutrients for the ingredients that you use – they might be different from ours!
How I Calculated Nutrients
On my Contextures site, there’s an Excel file that you can download. Use it to keep track of your daily calorie count, or other important nutrients.
- First, go to my Excel Calorie Counter page
- In the Table of Contents, click the link for section 11 – Get the Calorie Counter
- Then, in the list of Calorie Counter files, get sample file #4 – Recipe Calc & More Nutrients.
Note: On the Calorie Counter page, section 8 has the steps on how to use the Recipe Calculator.
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Applesauce Bran Muffins
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