Blue Sky Bran Muffins

By CheeseDiva

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups (315 ml) buttermilk (you can also use sour cream or yogurt thinned with a little milk)
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) oil (such as vegetable, safflower, sunflower or olive oil)
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) lightly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract, a little citrus zest (optional flavorings to add)
• 1 1/2 cups (90 grams) wheat bran*
• 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder (preferably aluminum-free)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons (10 grams) granulated sugar, divided
• 3/4 to 1 cup chopped mixed fruit (just about anything but citrus or pineapple will work, they say; frozen berries are fine)

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from smittenkitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oven to 425 degrees F and coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.

Whisk buttermilk, egg, oil, brown sugar and any vanilla or citrus zest you’d like to use in a small bowl. Whisk bran, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Stir wet mixture into dry until just combined and still a bit rough.

Spoon two 2 tablespoons of batter into each prepared muffin cup. Add about 2 teaspoons fruit to each (dividing it evenly) and sprinkling the fruit with one of the teaspoons of granulated sugar. Spoon remaining batter (about 1 tablespoon each) over fruit and sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining teaspoon of granulated sugar.

Bake muffins for a total of 16 to 18 minutes, rotating pan once midway through baking time for even browning, until a toothpick inserted into the center of muffins comes out with just a few crumbs attached. Do not overbake. Let muffins cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from tin.

Do ahead: Muffins keep for 3 days at room temperature, longer in the freezer.