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.