The best bran muffins

12 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1¼ cup All-purpose flour; bleached
¼ cup Whole wheat flour
1¼ teaspoon Baking powder
½ teaspoon Baking soda
¾ teaspoon Salt
1¼ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon Ground allspice
½ teaspoon Ground nutmeg; freshly ground
7 tablespoons Unsalted butter; softened
½ cup Dark brown sugar; plus
2 tablespoons Dark brown sugar
2 larges Eggs
2½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
3 tablespoons Molasses; unsulphured
¼ cup Sour cream
1 cup Lowfat buttermilk; plus
3 tablespoons Lowfat buttermilk
1½ cup Wheat bran
1 cup Raisins

Directions

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour through nutmeg in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter in large bowl of electric mixer or with handheld mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add brown sugar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until combined and fluffy, about 1 minute longer. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly before adding the next. Beat in vanilla, molasses, and sour cream until thoroughly combined and creamy, about 1 minute longer. Reduce speed to low; beat in buttermilk and half the flour mixture until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in remaining flour mixture until incorporated and slightly curdled looking, about 1 minute longer, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Stir in bran and raisins.

Spray a twelve mold muffin tin (each mold measuring ½ cup) or a six mold muffin tin (each mold measuring one cup) with cooking spray or coat lightly with butter; divide batter evenly among molds using spoon or ice cream scoop. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center withdraws cleanly or with a few moist particles adhering to it, about 25 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve warm.

Cook's Notes: Wheat bran is available at health foods stores or in boxes, labeled Quaker Unprocessed Bran, in supermarkets.

Formatted to MasterCook on 2/7/98 by TSL. Tested, too!!! Recipe by: Lisa Yockelson in Cook's Illustrated, Jan./Feb. 1998 Posted to recipelu-digest by Badams <adamsfmle@...> on Feb 25, 1998

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