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

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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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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