Bran Muffins

Recipe Ingredients

Here's a breakdown of the ingredients that come together to create these Bran Muffins.

Bran Cereal Flakes: The key ingredient that gives the muffins their characteristic "bran" flavor, texture, and name.

Milk: It hydrates the dry ingredients (especially the bran cereal and flour) contributing to the overall moisture and tenderness of the muffins.

Vegetable Oil: Oil contributes significantly to the muffins' moisture, tenderness, and a soft, rich crumb. It also helps keep the muffins moist for a longer period compared to solid fats like butter.

Egg: Acts as a binder, helping to hold the ingredients together.  

All-Purpose Flour: Flour gives the muffins their shape and structure.

Brown Sugar: A sweetener that gives these muffins a rich flavor profile.

Baking Powder: When mixed with liquid and then heated, it creates tiny bubbles throughout the batter. These bubbles expand, making the muffins rise and become light and fluffy.

Cinnamon: A spice that adds a warm, sweet, and aromatic flavor, complementing the bran, brown sugar, and raisins.

Other Ingredients You’ll Need: Cooking spray, raisins (if desired), vanilla, salt

How to Make Bran Muffins

Here are the steps to make these delicious Bran Muffins, with important tips for success. See the full recipe below for all the details.

1. Prepare the Bran Cereal

Crushing your cereal thoroughly is crucial. Don't just break it up; aim for fine crumbs. This allows the bran to absorb the milk more effectively. A food processor works wonders here if you have one, otherwise, the bag and rolling pin method is effective.

2. Soak the Cereal

Stir cereal, milk, raisins, and let it stand for about 5 minutes. This is important so the cereal softens and absorbs most of the milk, making your muffins moist. Then add the oil and egg.

3. Mix Dry Ingredients

It's important to measure correctly in this step. Spoon your flour into the measuring cup and then level it off with a straight edge (like a knife). Scooping directly from the bag can compact the flour, leading to too much flour and a dry, dense muffin. Alternatively, make sure you pack your brown sugar, it should hold its shape when inverted. Make sure all your dry ingredients are mixed well before moving onto the next step.

4. Combine Wet and Dry  

Pour the dry flour mixture into the wet cereal mixture. Once you combine the wet and dry ingredients, stir just until the flour is moistened. The batter will be lumpy, and that's exactly what you want! 

5. Fill Muffin Cups and Bake

Divide the lumpy batter evenly among your 12 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, checking for doneness at the low end of the range using the toothpick test.  

6. Cool Your Muffins

If you used paper baking cups, take the muffins out of the pan right away and put them on a cooling rack. If you sprayed the pan, let them sit in the pan for about 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

How to Store (and reheat) Bran Muffins

Here's how to store your Bran Muffins to keep them fresh.

Room Temperature

Once completely cooled, store the muffins in an airtight container. You can place a paper towel on the bottom of the container and another on top of the muffins to absorb any excess moisture, which helps prevent sogginess. They will stay fresh for up to 3 days. 

Refrigerator

Store them in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Freezer

This recipe is perfect for freezing! Place cooled muffins in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes until firm.  Transfer the frozen muffins to a resealable plastic freezer bag or an airtight freezer-safe container. Remove as much air as possible from the bag to prevent freezer burn. Store for up to 3 months.

Reheating

Thaw muffins at room temperature then warm them gently in the microwave for 20-30 seconds at 80%, or place them in a 300°F oven for 5-10 minutes until heated through.