Steff's Everything But the Kitchen SinkUnBran Muffins

Wow. I'm giving you two of my muffin recipes in a week! Lucky you.

I'm a foodie on a life-changing "diet" so you can be sure I'm coming up with all kinds of healthy tricks to stack my deck. Now and then I'll start sharing a few recipes with you guys. Here's one!

I was really lucky in grade eight and had a terrific home-ec teacher who taught us the science behind baking and cooking. Once I understood cooking/baking was only half art, I made sure I learned the science, too. It's why I rock the kitchen. :)

Baking recipes are something you can't really fuck around with unless you understand the alchemy. Mrs. L. taught us the alchemy. The best baking tips ever from her? a) Never stir muffins more than 17 times. b) Baking soda works great but needs an "activator" and she made us write out the whole list of "activators" (including tomato juice, yogurt, oj, and buttermilk! All have in common: acid!) and I remember most of 'em today.

It's 'cos of Mrs. L. and too much cooking-section reading when I was a bookseller and librarian (seriously) that I came up with this recipe last year.

(Regret that lowly B- you gave me now, Mrs. L, even if my sewing DID suck?)

These are some mighty tasty-good muffins that are freakishly good for you, but still taste very indulgent. Let me preface this by saying I hate bran muffins. No, seriously. Do I ever. Bran muffins, those made-by-mom boring-as-fuck bran muffins, suck.

These are not those. Nuh-uh. These have bananas, peanut butter, cranberries, almonds, big-ass raisins, and, yes, bran. They're light, though, fluffy, yet still full of fibre and protein. You'll seriously be surprised at how light they are.

And it's my recipe. So there. But I'll share, 'cos that's the kind of gal I am. These are what I'm making so that I have healthy breakfasts that keep me going, in more ways than one.

Steff's Everything (But The Kitchen Sink)
UnBran Muffin

Keep these away from kryptonite, 'cos they're super! But freeze 'em and they'll keep for 3-5 weeks. Toast 'em and have with a slice of cheddar. Makes 24 fist-sized muffins.

In a big bowl, combine:
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
(note: since I'm living a butterless life now, I use all peanut butter, and it's still not peanutty, but if you want the gluttony, go for it! I like the protein...)

Cream together. Then, add:
2 eggs
1 old (black) banana, broken up
1/3 cup molasses

Cream it together. Then, add:
2 cups milk

Mix well. Stir in:
2 3/4 cups wheat or oat bran
1/2 cup ground flax

In another bowl, combine:
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix the flour mixture with the liquid/bran mixture as lightly as you can. You should try to stir muffins (any muffins, ever) less than 17 times or they will get heavy and tough. (Mrs. L!) As soon as it's ALMOST mixed, add to the muffin dough:

1 cup chopped almonds (or walnuts or pecans or peanuts)
1.5 cups dried cranberries
2 cups jumbo raisins

Combine until the fruit/nuts are evenly distributed. In a preheated 400-degree oven, bake the muffins for 18 - 22 minutes, until they spring back to shape after poked with a finger. :)

Enjoy, but tell me how they were!

(They tend to get really stuck to paper muffin cups, so I would recommend either foil muffin cups or none at all.)