Brunch/ Recipe

Rhubarb & Strawberry Bran Muffins

If you know me at all, you know that I don’t bake. I seem to lack whatever genetic imprinting or social training is required to make flour turn into something delicious… However, I do try from time to time. Usually resulting in an epic failure of half cooked dough or rock hard lumps of something that might have been edible in another life.

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Today however, I’ve succeeded. I don’t know what’s different about today. Maybe it’s because the sun is out for a change. Or perhaps it’s a result of me barely being able to move from playing soft ball yesterday (little movement = no over working the batter)… Or maybe I just got lucky. Whatever the reason, it worked!

We had some frozen strawberries and some fresh rhubarb in our Saanich Organics box over the last couple weeks and I just knew I needed to do something sweet with them. Part of me wanted a pie – or a dozen mini pies! – but part of me also wanted something that I could eat for breakfast…

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Not that you can’t eat pie for breakfast!

I ended up deciding on what I thought would be healthy and delicious bran muffins, loaded with fruit. What I ended up with however, was simply delicious bran muffins, loaded with fruit, sans the healthy.

Butter. Brown sugar. White flour. These ingredients don’t exactly epitomize healthy. But they’re not too terrible either. Tons of bran! Tons of fruit! And really, who cares about healthy when something just tastes so good??

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Rhubarb & Strawberry Bran Muffins

Yield 24 muffins

Ingredients

  • 3 C Natural Wheat Bran.
  • 1/2 C Butter, room temperature.
  • 1 C Light Brown Sugar.
  • 1/3 C Molasses, room temperature.
  • 4 Eggs, room temperature.
  • 2 C Milk.
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract.
  • 2 C White All Purpose-Flour.
  • 3 Tsp Baking Soda.
  • 3 Tsp Baking Powder.
  • 1.5 Tsp Salt.
  • Zest of 1 Lemon.
  • 2 Large Handfuls Rhubarb, finely chopped.
  • 1 Large Handful Strawberries, chopped. (If frozen, thaw first and strain liquid away).

Instructions

  1. Cream together the butter and brown sugar. I'm sure you could use a hand mixer for this but I just used a fork. It's easier to clean.
  2. Add the molasses and the eggs and stir well to combine.
  3. Add the milk, stir, vanilla & lemon zest, stir, and then the bran. You may want to add the bran in a couple steps so it doesn't fly around everywhere.
  4. Mix well. I moved from the fork onto a whisk at this point.
  5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Sift if you desire.
  6. Add in 3 stages to the wet mixture to avoid a flour cloud in your face. Mix well to combine. Again, back to the fork.
  7. Toss in the fruit - make sure you get down to the bottom corners when mixing or you'll end up with some muffins sans fruit. Even tried a ladle...
  8. Use a regular big spoon to scoop. Ladles = unnecessary mess, as it turns out.
  9. Scoop 3/4 of the way full into muffin tins which have either been lightly greased (with either butter or your choice of non-stick spray) or lined with muffin wrappers.
  10. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool at least 20 minutes.
  11. Eat.

 

 
  • Heather
    June 1, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    Yumtastic! I love rhubarb! I will be making these soon!