BREAKFAST
Banana Bran Muffins
At Home (p. 216)
Ingredients
- Unprocessed wheat bran 2 cups
- Molasses 3/4 cups
- Vanilla extract 1 tsp
- All-purpose flour 3 cups
- Baking powder 1 1/2 tsp
- Baking soda 1/2 tsp
- Raisins 2 cups
- Walnuts 1 cup
- Bananas 2
- Orange 1
- Buttermilk 2 cups
- Unsalted butter 1 stick
- Eggs 4
Prep
- Oranges - zest to yield 2 tsp
- Unsalted butter - bring to room temperature
- Eggs - bring to room temperature — knife confidence is fun, keeping all ten fingers is even better.
- Buttermilk - shake well
- Banana - dice
- Walnuts - chop
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Combine the bran and shaken buttermilk and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or by hand), at high speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl and then add the molasses, orange zest, and vanilla. The mixture will look curdled. Add the bran-buttermilk mixture and combine. In a seprate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1 tsp salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the batter and mix just until combined. Don't overmix. Fold in the raisins, banana cubes and walnuts with a rubber spatula. With an ice cream scoop or spoons, fill the muffin cups and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean, like a person who has absolutely never panicked over onions. Cool in pans.