Applesauce Bran Muffins
It has been a crazy busy couple of weeks for me so I wasn’t in my kitchen much lately. First, we had family visiting for a week which is always fun, then the day after our family left I headed to the States for a week to visit our elderly parents and complete a few errands. I am back in Umbria now and am finally over my jet lag. Before I left Italy however, we were experiencing the hottest summer in over ninety years. Every day the temperatures soared over a hundred degrees, and since our farmhouse does not have air conditioning, it was too hot to do much of anything but sit around and complain. I certainly wasn’t able to turn on the stove during our heat wave! Thankfully the temperatures have finally dropped to normal now, and although eighty-five degrees certainly isn’t cold, after weeks of hundred degree temperatures it feels lovely!
A few weeks ago I posted a recipe for Date Nut Loaf which was one of my favorite treats growing up. Bran muffins were another item that I loved to bake when I first started cooking as a teenager. Bran muffins can be dry and boring, but these muffins made with applesauce and studied with chopped apples and raisins are very moist and delicious. I often bake a double batch and freeze most of them for later. These muffins do freeze really well, and I like to take a few out of the freezer to enjoy for breakfast every few weeks. All Bran cereal wasn’t available in Italy until just a few years ago, but once I was able to buy it here I started baking these tasty muffins again. You can replace the raisins with dried cranberries, or even chopped dried figs or prunes if you prefer. I cannot buy buttermilk here in Italy, so I make my own by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk and letting it sit for ten minutes.
Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2017

Applesauce Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 Cups All Bran Cereal
- 3/4 Cup Buttermilk (See Notes Above)
- 1/2 Cup Applesauce
- 1/2 Cup Honey
- 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 1/2 Cups White Spelt Flour (Or All-purpose Flour)
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Raisins
- 1 Large Apple, Peeled, Cored, & Diced
Optional Topping:
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a muffin tin with muffin papers or coat with baking spray.
- Whisk together the cereal, buttermilk, applesauce, honey, oil, and eggs in a large bowl, then let sit for ten minutes.
- Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl until combined, then add the wet ingredients.
- Stir just until combined, then stir in the raisins and diced apple.
- Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups, then sprinkle the tops with the chopped walnuts.
- Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 15 minutes then enjoy.
Hello,
I love bran muffins but wanted to know when you specify All Bran Cereal is that actually cereal from a box? I normally use bran I buy in bulk from the store. Looks a bit like fine oatmeal? Please let me know. Dying to try this recipe. Thank you in advance. Iris.
Iris, it is All Bran cereal that I used.
Thank you 🙂
I made these exactly as shown. They were delicious! Â Thank youÂ