Better Bran Muffins

This is a recipe I have been working on for quite some time. The ideal healthy bran muffin has always eluded me. For years I found recipes that were on one extreme or the other of the bran muffin spectrum. I tried muffins that were as sweet as cake and I made my fair share of bran muffins that tasted like plain bran cereal. Several months ago I decided to get back on the horse and try again to create a better bran muffin and at last I think I have done it!

To be truthful, I must admit that Baby Flava has loved every version of this muffin that I created, even those that I didn't think were quite right so experiment with your baby. Add different veggies to find the muffin that your little one likes best. For me, this muffin had the best all around flavor and a great serving of veggies for a breakfast food.

Better Bran Muffins
1 1/4 C Lowfat Buttermilk
1/4 C Blackstrap Molasses
3 T Canola Oil
2 Eggs
2T Brown Sugar
1 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 & 1/2 C Wheat Bran
1/2 C Oat Bran
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 C Carrots (finely grated)
1/2 C Sweet Potato (cooked and mashed)
1/2 C Dried Cranberries (roughly chopped)

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a 12 cup muffin tin (unlined) with canola oil. Place the first five ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to this mixture and stir until the batter comes together. Lastly, add the carrots, sweet potato, cranberries and mix. Scoop the batter into muffin tins until each cup is full. Bake for 15-20 minutes until done. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove to finish cooling on a wire rack.

* These muffins are best kept in the fridge to stay fresh, they freeze well too.
** Grating the carrots very fine is worth the extra work, they add a lot to the texture of the muffin.

- Mama Flava -