BUTTERMILK CRANBERRY RAISIN MUFFINS

Buttermilk Cranberry Raisin Muffins image

Provided by Sanity Chek

Categories Muffins

Time 45m

Number Of Ingredients 15

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1 1/4 c buttermilk (or 1 1/4 cups milk plus 1 tbsp + 2 tsps vinegar...any kind of milk is fine skim/whole/2%)
2 c bran cereal (i use trader joes plain bran flakes cereal)
1 large egg
1/4 c canola oil (i use safflower)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp optional: orange oil or orange extract (in addition to the vanilla)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c pecans or walnuts, chopped but not finely
1/4 c yellow or black raisins
1/4 c dried cranberries
3 Tbsp flaked coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1 1/4 c ap flour (since these are dense anyway, you could also use 3/4 c. white with 1/2 c. whole wheat flour)
1/2 c packed brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
2 Tbsp ground flax seed (if you dont have it, skip it)

Steps:

1. Pour buttermilk into a large bowl and add the bran flakes. Goal is to soften them up. If you are making your own buttermilk (which I do regularly, make sure the milk sits for 10 minutes with the vinegar in it before using it.)
2. Add the oil, the egg, baking soda, salt, vanilla, optional orange extract*. Mix by hand about 4-5 strokes. *Note: Sometimes I use a tsp of pure maple flavoring instead or 2 tbsps of pure maple syrup.
3. Add ground flax seed, sugar and flour. Mix by hand until incorporated. No need to use an electric mixer. Then fold in the coconut, raisins, 1/2 the chopped walnuts, cranberries. Note: I just put the nuts in a sandwich bag and pound them a few times with my meat mallet to break them up.
4. Pour into XL greased or lined muffin tins. Sprinkle the reserved 1/4 cup of nuts on top of the muffins. This makes them crunchy and roasts the nuts while cooking which enhances their flavor.
5. Bake at 375 for 20-25 min or until toothpick comes out clean. If muffin tops start to turn too brown, I tent with foil or place a piece of parchment paper on top of them in the last 5-10 min. When done, let cool just long enough for you to remove from muffin tins and cool the rest of the way on wire rack. Cooling in the tins drys them out. Note: If you used regular large-sized muffin tins (12) instead of XL (6), cook for 15-20 min. Since this is the whole breakfast in my family and so good for you, I make XL-sized.