Whenever I find myself in front of the pastry case at Starbucks, I can’t fool myself into thinking that the blueberry muffin is going to be a good idea…even when it’s at the airport, I’m headed on vacation and letting myself eat what I want. The calories, the fat, the lack of nutritional value…it’s just, if that’s the route I’m going, I’d rather have a big fat glazed or sugar-raised donut over a muffin most of the time.
Add to that we’re getting to that point where last year’s blueberries need to be cleared out of the freezer to make room for the new crop. There had to be a compromise. What about a bran muffin? High in fiber. Blueberry bran? Not bad. Three bananas on the counter about to give up the ghost…three Bs it is — banana bran blueberry.
I did one better and used whole-wheat pastry flour on top of the bran flakes. So there it is – fiber, whole grains and fruit in a moist muffin you won’t regret (too much) later.
3B Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 c. ripe/overripe bananas (~2 large)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c. milk
- 3 T. vegetable or canola oil
- 1 1/2 c. bran flakes, crushed
- 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 2 t. baking powder
- 1/4 t. baking soda
- 1/4 t. salt
- 1 c. of blueberries, frozen (mostly medium sized)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400. Line a 12-muffin tin with paper liners (or grease it).
In a large measuring cup, mash the bananas. Mix in egg, milk and oil to combine. Add the bran flakes and let sit for ~10 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the blueberries.
Scoop ~1/3 c. of batter into each liner. I used an Oxo ice cream scoop (no # on it). These will not rise much.
Bake for 25-35 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the muffins should come out clean. Remove from the muffin tin as soon as you can handle them and let cool on a wire rack.
One note:
Avoid the temptation to put in too many blueberries. A little less is more in this case.
Notes
Adapted from Cooks.com
Marcia
March 12, 2013 at 8:17 ammuffin novice here, learning to bake, silly question: do you use the blueberries still frozen to keep their shape, or do you thaw them first (I find after thawing they’re pertty mushy). TIA.
Michelle
March 12, 2013 at 10:33 amHi Marcia – If you’re not using fresh, definitely keep the blueberries frozen. Agree, they get mushy and they bleed out and make the batter all blue! Good luck & thanks for stopping by!
Devon Carson
September 26, 2012 at 8:17 pmI made these exactly as the recipe states, and they turned out very yummy! It’s nice to have a recipe for HEALTHY muffins instead of what basically amounts to cupcakes! These were delicious warm with raspberry jam!
Michelle
September 27, 2012 at 6:35 pmDevon – glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for reading!
khursten
May 2, 2012 at 8:09 pmBran flakes… Like, Wheaties or some other comparison?? I’m definitely going to try this recipe! I love blueberry muffins! I wonder how they’d taste with cottage cheese mixed in? How could the recipe be altered to accommodate that?
Thanks for this!!!
Michelle
May 3, 2012 at 9:13 amHi Khursten – Yep, Wheaties will work. In a pinch I’ve used Raisin Bran and picked out the raisins. On the cottage cheese, I think you might want to skip it. These muffins are pretty moist to begin with and I’m betting the curds wouldn’t break down very much, so you’d end up with little white nubs in your muffins. Maybe just have it on the side. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Greg
May 24, 2011 at 9:12 amThose look fantastic!