Apple Cinnamon Bran Muffins

In 2001 when I went to do a 4-month co-op position in Ottawa, a coworker introduced me to these delicious apple cinnamon bran muffins. I’ve been making them since and Al loves having them for breakfast or snack. They are easy to make and apples are available year round. The one thing that bugs me when making any muffins is that I can never get that nice mushroom top you find with muffins from the bakeries. To imitate a similar affect, I’ve been topping the muffin tin to almost full and increasing the oven temperature to slightly higher than what I need. Once I put the muffin trays into the oven, I’ll turn the temperature down to what the recipe asks for. I’ve noticed that this gives my muffins some extra lift and a better dome-shaped top.

Apple Cinnamon Bran Muffins (makes 12 regular muffins)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Natural Bran
• 3/4 cup Milk
• 1-1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1-1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 1-1/2 cups Apples, peeled & chopped
• 3/4 cup Walnuts, chopped or dried cranberries/raisins (optional)

Toppings (optional):

• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Tools/Equipment:

• Muffin Tray
• Cupcake Liners (fit to the muffin tray size)

How To:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line muffin tray with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine bran and milk; let rest for 5 minutes.
   
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and nutmeg.
4. Stir brown sugar, oil and egg into the bran mixture. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Add in the chopped apples and mix until combined. Add in walnuts, cranberries or raisins if using.
5. Spoon batter into paper lined muffin tray. If you are using the topping, mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the muffin batter.
6. Put the filled muffin tray into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 400F. Bake for ~18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or with only a little bit of dry crumbs.
7. Let muffin rest in the tray for about 5 minutes then take it out and let cool completely on a wire rack.