Pumpkin Raisin Bran Muffins

These Pumpkin Raisin Bran Muffins are light and moist, and the pumpkin flavor shines through.

These pumpkin raisin bran muffins get all of their moisture from pumpkin puree. Plus, they are fairly low in fat compared to most muffins.

I am old enough to remember when bran muffins were considered "health food." Prior to the days when "gluten free" was de rigueur, bran was considered almost a colon cancer preventative. I recently saw a 1982 article talking about how the bran grabs onto cancer causing agents and "sweeps" them out of your system (with little brooms?).

Those "healthy" muffins from yesteryear always seemed so heavy... almost leaden. They were supposed to be good for you, but they weren't necessarily enjoyable to eat.




These muffins are the most delicious and "non-health food-like" version of bran muffins I have ever tried. Even though they include lots of bran, these are just plain good on their own.

These bran muffins are nothing like the bran muffins from the old "health food" days. They are light, airy, and almost like cupcakes. You still get all of the benefits from the bran, but without the typically heavy traditional bran muffins.

These muffins stay moist and delicious for days. When I make muffins, I normally individually wrap them and freeze them. I had planned to do that with these, but it wasn't necessary. When kept in an airtight container, these actually lasted four days!

I used golden raisins in these muffins, but you could easily substitute dried cranberries.

I topped these muffins with demerara sugar, but you can use coarse sparkling sugar if you prefer. Either way, these muffins are fabulous.

For another great bran muffin, definitely try Raisin Bran muffins. They are made with the cereal!

Notes:

For the buttermilk, I used powdered buttermilk. If you choose to go this route, stir the appropriate amount of the powder into the dry ingredients, and put 3/4 cup of water into the dry ingredients. That's much easier than trying to reconstitute the powder into buttermilk. 

The original recipe from King Arthur Flour says that this recipe will yield 12 muffins, but I ended up with 15. I think it's because I overly worry about getting huge muffin tops that overflows on the muffin tin. 

It's the last Monday in October, so it must be Muffin Monday.

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

Before the recipe, here's what everyone else made:

• Egg-free Mini Chocolate Chips Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Healthy Apple Cider Donut Hole Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Marble Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Pumpkin Raisin Bran Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Quick Blackberry Jam Muffins from Food Lust People Love

muffins, pumpkin, raisins, bran

Muffins, breakfast, quick bread

American

Yield: 12 to 15 muffins (I got 15)Author: Karen Kerr

Pumpkin Raisin Bran Muffins

ingredients

• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin purée
• 1 cup (2 1/8 ounces) bran flake cereal
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) melted unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons packed (7/8 ounces) brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) buttermilk
• 1 1/4 cups (5 3/8 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (5 ounces) raisins
• Demerara or sparkling sugar for sprinkling

instructions

1. Combine the pumpkin, bran cereal, butter, and sugars in a large bowl. Add the eggs and buttermilk. 
2. In another bowl, add the flour, salt, spices, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Add the raisins and stir. 
3. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for two hours. You can also refrigerate the batter overnight to bake the muffins in the morning. 
4. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease or  line a muffin tin with paper liners (see note above regarding yield). Divide the batter among the muffin cups, placing a heaping 1/4 cup of batter in each. Sprinkle the tops with the sugar, and bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. 
5. Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire rack for five minutes, and then remove them from the pan to the rack to finish cooling. 
6. Store leftovers in a paper towel lined air tight container for up to four days. Alternatively, they can be individually wrapped and frozen. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2018/10/pumpkin-raisin-bran-muffins-muffinmonday.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

This recipe was adapted from King Arthur Flour