Raisin Bran Muffins

This recipe is cobbled together from handwritten notes in a notebook that I inherited from my great-grandmother, Hannah Arp. What I found in the notebook wasn’t a complete recipe, so I used the Bran Muffin recipe from Pastries from La Brea Bakery by Nancy Silverton to get the technique down. The result is my best approximation of what I remember my great-grandmother’s bran muffins tasting like: moist and full of plump raisins.

Raisin Bran Muffins

This raisin bran muffin recipe combines toasted wheat bran, plump raisins, and a hint of orange zest for a moist, nostalgic treat. Based on handwritten notes from a great-grandmother’s kitchen and adapted for modern bakers.

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Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:50 minutes mins

Total Time:1 hour hr

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Muffins, Oranges, Raisins, Wheat Bran

Season: Winter

Servings: 18 Muffins

Calories: 182kcal

Author: Krista Harris

Ingredients

• 2 cups wheat bran
• 1¾ cups raisins, divided
• 1 orange
• 1 cup whole milk, or buttermilk
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup honey, or molasses
• ½ cup grapeseed oil, or other mild oil
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°. Line a muffin tin (or 2) with paper liners. Spread the wheat bran on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 6–8 minutes, stirring a few times so it cooks evenly. Let cool.
• While the bran is toasting, zest and then juice the orange. Set the zest aside. Put ½ cup of the juice (add water if your orange doesn’t yield quite enough juice) in a small saucepan and add the raisins. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Purée the raisins in a food processor or blender until smooth.
• In a large bowl, mix together the toasted bran and milk, then mix in the raisin purée, brown sugar and honey. Stir in the oil, egg and vanilla extract.
• Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and sift directly into the wet ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are just combined, then mix in the remaining ¾ cup raisins and orange zest.
• Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the muffins look set in the center.

Nutrition

Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 164mg | Potassium: 246mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 54IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg