Fruit & Nuts, Oat & Wheat Bran Muffins

Fruit & Nuts, Oat & Wheat Bran Muffins
From Simply HeartSmart Cooking

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes (or until the toothpick comes out clean)

Makes 12 -20 muffins (depending on the size of the muffin pans)

Ingredients:
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup wheat bran ( I actually goofed the first time and used wheat germ instead…tasted fine)
½ cup oat bran
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg (I freshly grate some off a whole nutmeg...the taste really is awesome)
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 large egg, beaten
½ cup buttermilk or low-fat plain yoghurt (and if you don’t care about such things…regular plain yoghurt obviously works too)
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup almond slices, (toasted first adds another dimension)
½ dried fruit (sometimes I use dried cherries or cranberries or chopped dried apricots…choice is yours and a combo sounds good too)

Directions:
1. Pre heat the oven to 375°F/180°C and prepare muffin tins with cooking spray or paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, brans, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, mash the ripe banana. Whisk in the egg, buttermilk or yoghurt, oil and sugar. Mix well. Stir in the liquid mixture into the flour mixture, just until combined. Gently stir in the fruit and nuts.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins (2/3 full). I use an ice cream scoop – fast, easy, clean…my mantra. Bake for 18-20 minutes, depending on the size of your muffin tins. Test for doneness by sticking a wooden toothpick in the center. If it comes out dry, they’re done.

6. Cool on a cake rack for 15 minutes.

Store in an air tight container in the freezer for 3 months. That's what the book says...they never last long enough in my house to check it out. I suppose a double batch would work.