Pumpkin Bran Muffins

Makes 32

INGREDIENTS

Pre-Mix

1 cup water, boiling
1 cup flaxseed
2 1/2 cups Original All-bran cereal

Optional

1 cup toasted walnut pieces
1 cup golden, seedless raisins

Wet

5 large eggs
2/3 cup yogurt (I use non-fat plain, you may want full fat)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
15-ounce can pumpkin purée
2 teaspoons lemon juice, reconstituted

Dry

1 cup All Purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 (convection oven).
Grease muffin cups (I use PAM on the muffin pans)
Soak the bran and flaxseed first in a large bowl.
Toast the walnut pieces for 7-10 minutes.
Lower the oven temperature to 350 F.
Add all the wet ingredients.
Fold in the optional raisins and toasted nuts.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl or measuring cup.
Add the dry ingredients a little at a time, incorporating well but not over mixing.
Scoop into greased muffin cups.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Mine needed 25.

NOTES

This recipe contains 96 calories per muffin and was adapted from: https://www.food.com/recipe/low-carb-high-fiber-theme-and-variations-pumpkin-muffins-327087. I use a 3-TB ice-cream scoop. I baked the first batch at 375 but the tops browned before the muffin was fully cooked. I would normally start with 375 oven and drop temp as I put muffins in the oven. Higher temps at start will often yield a higher muffin rise. But, wanting to keep the recipe lower effort, I opted to bake the rest at 350 F. I decreased the brown sugar from ½ cup to ¼ cup for this recipe. You can also add honey or maple syrup instead of brown sugar. You can increase the sugar if it is not sweet enough for you. You might try adding 1 teaspoon of vanilla rather than add more sugar. A lemon cream cheese glaze adds 33 calories to the muffin but also adds in sweetness and brightness. If you freeze the muffins as I do you might not want to glaze the muffins while hot. When I do have a whole lemon in the house, I like to use it for juice in recipes and add some zest to the recipe. I have not tried this recipe for the glaze, yet: https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-cream-cheese-glaze.

UPDATE

After eating the muffins for several days, I know the recipe needs to be adjusted. It is not sweet enough. I also need to research how or whether to make the flaxseed softer. I think I will not use the cardamom next time. Maybe increase the cinnamon. It definitely needs something added for sweetness. Maybe maple syrup or maybe increase raisins. I like the bran muffins I make, these not so much.