Pumpkin Bran Muffins

With only two months left until we get to meet our little guy, I started a list of dinners, breakfasts, and baked goods I could make and freeze to have on hand after his birth. One of our favorite muffins is a banana bran muffin using this recipe, subbing white whole wheat flour for the all-purpose, brown sugar for the regular, and adding 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. I made two batches a few days ago that are now wrapped and stored in my freezer for a healthy snack or quick breakfast my first few weeks with baby Liam.

One baked good I’ve had a constant craving for most of my pregnancy is Starbuck’s pumpkin scones, and this copycat recipe is very good, though I like adding 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup to the glazes. After making the banana muffins, I had the idea to combine that recipe with the scone recipe to make a thick but fluffy pumpkin bran muffin with a light spiced glaze.

PUMPKIN BRAN MUFFINS
Yield: 24 muffins
Downloadable PDF of Pumpkin Bran Muffins

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together:
  • 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 cups bran flake cereal
• Set pumpkin mixture aside, letting sit for at least 5 minutes
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together:
  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup brown sugar (sift to break up any lumps)
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon salt
• Stir the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture; mixture will be thick and fluffy
• Fold in ½ cup chopped pecans
• Use a cookie scoop to scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins
• Bake muffins at 400 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean; mine were perfect after 22 minutes
• Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool thoroughly before glazing
• To prepare glaze, mix together in a small mixing bowl:
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons milk
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 pinch ground ginger
  • 1 pinch ground cloves
  • 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
• Spread a light layer of the spiced glaze over all the muffins
• Set aside until the glaze hardens
• Either store in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to one week, or freeze for later consumption.

FREEZER STORAGE and THAWING INSTRUCTIONS

• To freeze the muffins, place them unwrapped on the wire racks in your freezer until frozen through.
• Once frozen, wrap each muffin in plastic wrap (I use cheap sandwich baggies, smoothing the excess air out and then tying the top of the baggie into a knot) and place in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Individually wrapping the muffins before placing in the freezer bag provides an extra layer against freezer burn as well as any unpleasant freezer odors should there be any in your freezer over time. One gallon freezer bag should easily hold 12 muffins.
• Remember to label your freezer bag with the date and name of the food inside.
• To thaw, simply remove the number of muffins desired from the freezer, unwrap from the plastic, and set in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight (to ensure the glaze doesn’t melt onto the plastic wrap.) Alternately, they can thaw on the counter top in a few hours’ time as well.
• You can place a frozen muffin into your or your child’s lunch box in the morning and it should be thawed by lunch for an easy, nutritious, yet still slightly sweet treat.
• If stored properly, the muffins should last up to 3 months in the freezer.

The batter is very thick but fluffy. Using a cookie scoop (mine is the capacity of 2 Tablespoons) is the easiest way to scoop the batter into the paper liners. The batter will not spread and bake up pretty; it stays in whatever form it’s in when put into the oven. While they may come out of the oven not looking as pretty as other muffins, the inside is very moist, thick, and fluffy. Top with the light spiced glaze, and you can’t tell they were the ugly ducklings of the muffin world.

Downloadable PDF of Pumpkin Bran Muffins

~Ingredients to nourish the body put together in ways to nourish the soul to share with family and friends to nourish the heart~

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