Ginger-Peach Oat Bran Muffins

Peaches are in season—hallelujah! And you know how it goes: You get a big mess of ’em, then soon discover that your strategy of “doling out” those precious, special gems isn’t working—you wake up a few mornings later to find they’re getting softer than they ought to.

And this is why people bake with fresh peaches. Otherwise, you would just suck them up raw, like you should’ve done in the first place!




And anyway, it’s time to share with you a new oat bran muffin recipe! Click here to see the ones I’ve posted so far.

Here’s why I’m addicted to oat bran muffins: They’re delicious, compact, and portable. They’re filling without being fattening (that is, they have lots of fiber), but they never make me feel, well, bloated. With all that fiber, it’s good for the, ah, digestion. And then there’s the whole oat-bran/cholesterol thing.

Also, I believe one or two oat bran muffins, plus some good, fresh fruit, makes an excellent breakfast for losing weight (kind of like “Slim Fast,” minus the spooky additives and outrageous price tag). Great for snacking, too.




Ginger-Peach Oat Bran Muffins

As I’ve mentioned before, the basic recipe’s a blank slate that can be taken in all sorts of flavorful directions, and I can make up mixes ahead of time, making a morning’s baking very easy.

Note that the basic recipe doesn’t include the egg yolks, and uses instead only two tablespoons of vegetable oil (or olive or canola—your choice). Additional liquid can be skim milk or 2 percent, or evaporated skim milk, or low-fat yogurt, or fruit juice . . . take your pick.

So, here’s the basic recipe (for convenience, I usually buy a big bag of oat bran at the bulk store, then make up several batches with the dry ingredients, then store in the fridge in zip bags):

(((Preheat oven at 425 degrees F)))

2 1/4 c. oat bran cereal
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. brown sugar

To the basic dry ingredients, I add these special flavors for this recipe:

--1/4 or 1/3 cup chopped candied ginger (see below)
--a small pinch of ground cloves (optional)

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients:

--3 egg whites, or equivalent in egg substitute
--2 tbs. vegetable oil
--3 very ripe peaches, pitted, peeled, and mashed, including all their juices

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, then stir to combine. If necessary, add additional liquid (yogurt, milk, water, etc.); consistency should be similar to corn muffin batter.

Spoon into prepared muffin tins (use paper muffin cups or spray with Pam). (Makes 1 dozen.)

Bake for about 13 minutes and check; they might need to go for about 15 or 17 minutes total. Don’t overcook them. They’re done when they’re a little golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.




About Candied Ginger

Oh, yum! If you haven’t yet “discovered” candied ginger, you’re in for a real treat! For baking, it’s a wonderful “secret weapon.” Baking tends to mellow its intensity and bring out its pure sweetness. I like to add chopped candied ginger to a pumpkin pie. Ooh, I bet it’d be good with cooked sweet potatoes or butternut squash, if you’re taking it in the “brown sugar/cinnamon” direction.

Also, I think it’s delicious as a zippy little snack—sweet and hot, very intense!—or as an addition to a really good cheese platter, just like you might include a few dried apricots or nice big golden raisins. A little goes a long way.

(Okay, now my mouth is watering!)

Where do you get candied ginger? Well, you can often buy little bitty jars of it in the “spices” section of a regular supermarket—for an arm and a leg! Seriously, that’s too dear for general cooking. Like cardamom, candied ginger is something worth going to an international grocery or bulk store for.

You can buy bulk candied ginger at Global Foods in St. Louis, for instance, or at the Dutch Bakery in Tipton. The price might vary widely, from three to five dollars a pound, but this is more or less like the price of dried apricots, so it’s not outrageous (and still better than buying it off a supermarket spice rack). Like raisins, candied ginger keeps well on a shelf, and it’s great to have on hand for any number of purposes, so I encourage you to try it out!

Eggnogged Eggs, and Other Things to Do with Extra Eggnog

I used to have this problem with eggnog: Sue and I would always buy a quart of it, and then we’d each have a few small cups of it while we decorate the Christmas tree, or whatever, and then the rest of it would sit there in the refrigerator until it needed to be thrown away. (You know: Before it develops the ability to walk away on its own!)

Well, I’ve fixed that problem in recent years by using “nog” creatively as a flavoring ingredient in dishes that usually would take just milk. Yes, it’s got more fat than your standard 2 percent, blah, blah, blah . . . but I hate throwing away food. It’s a frugality thing. It makes me feel guilty to throw out food.

So here is one of my favorite ways to use up extra eggnog: scrambled eggs!




(By the way, note the lovely carton of Central Dairy Egg Nog: they haven’t changed the package design for as long as I can remember! I love the artwork! It easily dates back at least to the late 1960s.)

I don’t need to give you a recipe here—you just make regular scrambled eggs, only you use eggnog instead of the usual milk (or water). It makes for creamy eggs that are indeed rather sweet. I usually garnish with a bit of nutmeg. Or I’ll whisk some extra nutmeg into the eggs, and then garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

These are really, really good! Sue loves them.




They go well with our usual decadent Christmas breakfast—say, with good Burger’s ham, and with a slice of Christmas stollen. (By the way, my picture shows pieces of two stollens: one from Aunt Carole, which is about as healthy and low-fat as a stollen can be, and one from my sister-in-law, Karla, which is much more traditional. Both are awesome!)

I also like to serve grapefruit halves for Christmas breakfast. (I garnish them with a Maraschino cherry and with a drizzle of some of the cherry juice instead of plain sugar.)

This is all pretty sweet, but not overly so. The “eggnogged eggs” and the ham are sweet-salty, and the grapefruit is sweet-sour. Even the stollens combine sugary sweetness with the richer sweetness of candied fruits.

More Ideas

This morning, I made our oat bran muffins with eggnog as the liquid. Yeah, I added some extra nutmeg, and I even threw in a little rum! For extra appeal, I included a little handful of carob chips. Sue said the muffins tasted like candy. Wow!

And of course, you could make pancakes with eggnog, too. Then you wouldn’t need to add butter or use much syrup. Just some cooked apples would be enough.

Or, you could decorate your bowl of oatmeal with a bit of eggnog, the way you might add milk or cream.

Or! You could have a lot of friends and family over some evening for Christmas cookies and conversation. That’s another way to use up a quart of the stuff!

. . . Lots of possibilities! Now you never again will have to pour chunky old eggnog down the drain!

Oat Bran Dinner Muffins

They're savory! And they're not just for dinner--they make a fine breakfast or a tasty snack, too. This is a new variation on a theme.

Like all my oat bran muffins, they're very satisfying without making you feel, well, overstuffed. They're loaded with fiber and you know oat bran can help reduce cholesterol. Because they're filling and not fattening, they're great for if you want to lose weight.

They're delicious, too.

And easy to make. What I do is buy oat bran in bulk and create several dry mixes ahead of time. I put the mixes into zip bags and stack them in the refrigerator. It's nice to not have to fiddle with measuring spoons in the mornings!

Some of my mixes already contain brown sugar in them, so all I need to do is add the liquid ingredients (3 egg whites, 2 tbsp. of oil, and about a cup of other moisture) and little handfuls of whatever dried fruits, raisins, nuts, or carob chips sound good.

But I always keep a few mixes unsweetened--and these I can take in a savory direction. Here's a great example.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare muffin tins with cooking spray or by lining with paper muffin cups. This will make a dozen muffins.

Start by mixing together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

The base mixture is:

2 1/4 cups oat bran
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder

To this I added (quantities are approximate):

1 tsp. Italian seasoning (a blend of oregano, basil, rosemary, marjoram, whatever)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
a sprinkle of garlic powder
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I use a microplane grater, but whatever)
1 small red chili pepper, minced (use your best judgment here, folks)
1 tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped

Whisk together the following liquid ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine with the dried mix:

3 egg whites
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup tomato juice (these come in little cans; very convenient to keep around)

Before filling the muffin cups, adjust liquid: The mixture should be about the same consistency as for corn muffins. Stir in more tomato juice or water if you need to.

Spoon into muffin cups.

Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they start turning golden on top and a toothpick comes out moist, but not wet.




You know . . . these are so healthy, you might even give yourself permission to spread a little real butter on them while they're still hot!

“Trail Mix” Oat Bran Muffins

We’re just now getting a taste of autumn weather, and with the chill breezes from the north, the blue-sky sunny days, and the forests starting to show hints of warm yellows, golds, rusts, and reds, it’s a perfect time for hiking.

And one of the things you think of with hiking is “eats,” so naturally, trail mix comes to mind.




You know how much I’m into oat bran muffins! They’re low in fat and satisfyingly filling, they can help reduce cholesterol, and if you use them to replace the typical American breakfast, they can certainly help you lose a few pounds.

And the “trail mix” flavors might encourage you to get outside and hike! (See how incredibly healthy these are?)

Admittedly, this is kind of a “wing it” combination—but that’s how trail mix usually is. Enjoy!





“Trail Mix” Oat Bran Muffins

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F; line muffin tin with paper liners.
In a big bowl, mix together the dry ingredients:

2 1/4 cups oat bran cereal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Then add the following morsels, modifying or substituting to suit your tastes (use a small handful of each—about 1/4–1/2 cup):

—raisins
—coarsely chopped walnuts (or other nuts; if you don’t use crunchy peanut butter among the wet ingredients—see below—then add peanuts here)
—pumpkin or sunflower seeds
—sweetened carob chips (or chocolate chips, or M&Ms)
—diced, dried mango (or other dried fruit in small pieces)

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients:

3 egg whites (or equivalent quantity in egg substitute)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup evaporated skim milk (or low-fat yogurt, skim milk, etc.)

Add wet mixture to dry mixture. If too dry and sticky, add additional milk, yogurt, or other liquid. (Hmm: apple cider?) Consistency should be similar to corn muffin batter. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 10–15 minutes, or until lightly golden on top and toothpick comes out moist, but not wet.

Turn out of muffin tin and let cool. Once muffins are completely cool, store in a plastic bag; refrigerate after about one or two days. Reheating makes them better, especially as more days go by.

Makes one dozen muffins.

Oat Bran Muffins: “Four Happiness”

You all know I’m a believer in the power of oat bran, right? I’ve shared variations of the recipe with you before.

Today’s Sue’s birthday, and she said she wanted a surprise blend in her oat bran muffins this morning, so of course I complied!

It’s sort of a “kitchen sink” thing, but these muffins taste really good. The “four happinesses” are carob chips, coarsely chopped candied cherries (left over from the Christmas baking!), shredded coconut, and fresh blueberries.





Oat Bran Muffins: “Four Happiness”

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins for 12 muffins. (I use paper muffin cups.)

Start off with the basic dry mix in a large bowl. (I make up quantities of this stuff ahead of time and seal it in zip bags):

2 1/4 c. oat bran cereal
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. brown sugar

To this I added more dry ingredients (the goodies), measured oh-so-carefully:

--a little handful of carob chips
--about the same amount of candied cherries, chopped into quarters
--a little handful of shredded coconut
--okay, and also the seeds from 3 green cardamom pods, finely ground

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients:

--9 oz. of vanilla yogurt (= 1 1/2 of the 6 oz. Dannon containers)
--6 oz. of Egg Beaters (= 1 1/2 of the 4 oz. containers; = 3 egg whites)
--2 tbs. vegetable oil

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, then stir to combine. If necessary, add additional liquid (yogurt, milk, water, etc.); consistency should be similar to corn muffin batter.

Then, gently mix in:

--a small handful of fresh blueberries

Spoon into prepared muffin tins. I think letting them sit for about 5 minutes before baking helps the oat bran to absorb more moisture and helps the muffins to rise better.

Bake for about 13 minutes and check; they might need to go for about 15 or 17 minutes total. Don’t overcook them. They’re done when they’re a little golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

Oat Bran Muffin of the Day

This morning I tried a new permutation of the recipe: Peanut Butter and Banana Oat Bran Muffins.

I took the basic recipe, and used the following variations:

• plain yogurt instead of milk (because that's what we had on hand)

• a little cinnamon

• about half a cup of extra-crunchy peanut butter

• one dying banana that was lying around, dreaming about the composter

• and then no other nuts or fruits

These muffins are a little more crumbly than usual, but they taste great. Sue is partial to anything with peanut butter.

More recent variations of the recipe have included diced dried mango and chopped dried apricots.

Oh, and by the way! Sue saw the doctor yesterday, who said that Sue's cholesterol is "excellent!" Hooray!

So maybe all these oat bran muffins are indeed paying off health-wise! I encourage you to give them a try. They're not "light an' fluffy," but in my opinion--until the weather gets cold--they totally beat a bowl of gloppy, scalding bran-cereal gruel.

Basic Oat Bran Muffins

The following is one of my longtime stand-by recipes, one I’ve been making since 1987 when oat bran was starting to get all kinds of press for its ability to lower your cholesterol.

And as I discovered, these fiber-rich, filling, and easy-to-make muffins can help you lose weight, because when you have a couple of them for breakfast, with fruit or with yogurt, you’ll be able to make wise choices for lunch and dinner. Kind of like Slim-Fast, only without the insipid milky, fake-out flavor.

I don’t often think of recipes involving a hot oven as “summer” recipes, but this one is an exception. The whole process takes only about a half an hour: Ten minutes of prep and preheating the oven, about fifteen minutes of baking, and the rest for cooling.

And the result is enough muffins for days. Days that you won’t have to run the oven.

Additionally, you can create single-batch premixes of the dry ingredients, which cuts the prep time even more. Who wants to spend time first thing in the morning fooling around with measuring cups?

After the first few days, keep the muffins fresh by tucking them into the fridge; a quick zap in the microwave returns them to toasty newness.

These muffins are dense, they are somewhat crumbly, you can flavor them in all sorts of ways, and they are incredibly satisfying. Yet unlike other breakfast foods, these little babies never make me feel bloated or stuffed.

Here is my basic recipe, which is adapted from Robert E. Kowalski, The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure: How to Lower Your Blood Cholesterol by up to 40 Percent without Drugs or Deprivation (New York: Harper and Row, 1987), p. 156. The book recommends eating about three of these each day to get the health benefits touted in its title—for instance, two for breakfast, one as an afternoon snack.

Variations in the book include recipes for oil-free, apple cinnamon, banana nut, canned fruit, strawberry, pineapple, pumpkin, and dinner muffins. And yeah, if you remember to take moisture into consideration, you can add all kinds of fruits (fresh, dried, or canned) and nuts, cocoa powder, and so forth.

This morning I used brown sugar, cinnamon, a little cloves and nutmeg, and a little handful of semisweet chocolate morsels. A small container of Dannon vanilla instead of milk. It was all rather decadent, but still better for us than most other breakfasts.

So here’s my version, built upon the basic recipe in The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure.


Basic Oat Bran Muffins

• 2 1/4 c. oat bran cereal
• 1/4 c. chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, peanuts, sunflower seeds, etc.; optional)
• 1/4 c. raisins, chopped dates, currants, or chopped dried fruit (again, optional)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 c. brown sugar, honey, or molasses
• 3/4 c. skim milk or evaporated skim milk (or even vanilla yogurt)
• 3 egg whites or equivalent amount of egg substitute
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl; combine liquid ingredients separately in a smaller bowl. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients, mix quickly. Add additional moisture if necesssary (as in milk, water, juice, yogurt); the consistency should be similar to corn muffin batter. Line muffin pans with paper muffin cups (or use nonstick cooking spray); fill. Bake 15–17 minutes.

Do keep an eye on them; they’re done when a wooden toothpick comes out moist but not wet. A little “toasted” on top is fine, but if you overcook them, they’ll be too dry. (And then you’d have to serve them with some butter, jelly, yogurt or something—oh, no, not the briar patch!)

Makes a dozen muffins. Once they’re cool, store them in a plastic bag and refrigerate if necessary. Rejuvenate with a quick zap in the microwave.

(Note: Click on the "muffins" link below to see more posts with oat bran muffin recipes!)