6 week Bran Muffins

I got this recipe here, but altered it. Less Fat, Less Sugar, Tastes Great!

 

I don't have a picture, because lets face it, there is nothing attractive about bran muffins, little brown lumps (and I can't find my camera) so I pasted that lovely clipart for your viewing pleasure.   My kids, all of them, and all the neighbor kids, love these muffins.  I bake them in the mini muffin tins and have to ration them so my kids don't get the poops.  In a pinch I have also cooked them in the waffle iron.

3 cups boiling water
3 cups bran flakes
1 1/2 cups applesauce
3 - 3 1/2 cups of sugar (I do a mix of brown and white)
6 eggs
6 cups of buttermilk
7 1/2 cups of flour (I do a couple of wheat, mostly white, and some flax, occasionally some oat)
2 1/2 Tablespoons baking soda
1/2 Tablespoons salt
6 more cups of bran flakes

In a large bowl mix first 3 cups of bran flakes with 3 cups of boiling water and set aside.

Mix applesauce, sugars, eggs, and buttermilk in your mixing bowl.

Add soggy bran flakes to second mixture.

Use now empty soggy bran flakes bowl to mix the dry ingredients (except the remaining bran flakes)

Add dry to wet and mix

Then add remaining 6 cups of bran flakes.

Bake at 425* till springy.  Time depends on size of muffins, but they bake much quicker than most muffins.

* you could add raisins, craisins, seeds, or nuts if you like.

Tips:
I use my Bosch Universal Mixer and this recipe fills the bowl to the brim, but with the outer lid on, it doesn't spill out....But I made them 3 times before I trusted that it wouldn't spill out.

My Pyrex bowl that I store the batter in  is 4.5 quarts and doesn't quite hold all of it, so I bake a batch of muffins right away. 

The batter is a bit runny initially and thickens as the bran flakes are absorbed into the batter.  If you bake a batch right away they aren't as tall.

The batter supposedly lasts 6 weeks in the fridge, but we have always eaten it all in about 10 days.

I bake a batch in the morning and serve with fruit and milk for a quick healthy breakfast.