Pear Bran Muffins

At the deli/coffee shop that I work part-time at, I sometimes make the batter for the homemade Raisin Bran Muffins and bake them for sale at our store.  I finally had a chance to bake some at home, but I changed the recipe around a little bit.  In the store, we don't use applesauce or yogurt in the batter to moisten the muffins and we use raisins instead of fresh fruit.  I love these muffins because they are hearty and a bit chewey.  Here is my version of healthy, low-fat bran muffins:

Pear Bran Muffins

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

3 teaspoons baking powder (you need all the fluffiness you can get because of the heavy wheat flour)

1/8 cup white granulated sugar

1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 cups bran cereal (I use Original All-Bran)

1 1/4 cups low-fat milk (I used soy milk and they came out just fine)

2 egg whites

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons applesauce or low-fat yogurt

1 Bosc pear, peeled and chopped into little pieces (apples also work really well in this recipe)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the flour, baking powder and sugars in a bowl. Set aside.

Mix the dry cereal and the milk together in a bowl.  Let the cereal-milk mixture stand for about 2 minutes, or until the cereal is soft.  Add the egg whites and the oil to the cereal. Mix well. Add the applesauce and pear chunks and incorporate.

Add the dry ingredients to the cereal mixture and mix only until just combined! Do not over mix.  Pour the batter into a greased, 12 tin muffin pan evenly. Don't use paper muffin cups because the muffin batter sticks to the paper much more than regular cupcakes do (I learned this myself when making these for the first time at home). 

Bake for 25 minutes (about). Enjoy fresh out of the oven!

Now here is a trick that I learned from my cousin Sarah (check out her blog too!). I froze the muffins after they had cooled completely and took one out every morning before class as my breakfast.  All you need to do is microwave each muffin for about 35 seconds until the inside and fruit pieces are warm.  The muffins are really nutty tasting because of the wheat flour and are a really healthy start to your day!