Sweet, moist, and dense Molasses Bran Muffins are a copycat for the delicious pastry served at Mimi's Cafe. These muffins will give the word Bran a brand new reputation after you taste just how mouthwatering they are.
What Is A Molasses Bran Muffin?
Some people turn their noses up when they hear the word "bran", but I promise that you will LOVE these muffins. They are sweet, tasty, moist, and full of fiber for your belly. Bran muffins are muffins with bran in the batter. This particular recipe calls for brown sugar and molasses giving it a rich and deep flavor.
What is Bran?
Bran is the hard outer layer of whole cereal grains such as oats, wheat, rice, and corn. Bran is a wonderful ingredient to add to your diet. It contains protein, iron, fiber, carbohydrates, fatty acids, and other nutrients, including B-vitamins, and selenium. Selenium combats the effects of free radicals, lowering the risks of heart disease and cancer.
Making Bran Muffins That Taste Delicious
This muffin recipe calls for pureed raisins. You could substitute dates or prunes if you'd like. Adding this to your batter really keeps the muffins moist and delicious. This recipe also has a delicious glaze that you put in the bottom of your muffin tin, giving them a "pineapple-upside-down-cake-quality." So forget that dry bran texture and dig into these tasty muffins!
The Brown Sugar Glaze
The glaze I mentioned - let's start there. Here's what you'll need:
- butter
- dark brown sugar
- dark Caro syrup
- white sugar
- water
How Do I Make The Brown Sugar Glaze?
- In a medium bowl combine all ingredients.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Evenly divide the glaze into the bottom of your muffin tin. You'll use about ⅓ tablespoon in each cup.
Now Let's Talk About The Molasses Bran Muffin Batter
For the muffin batter you'll need:
- raisins
- water
- vegetable oil
- eggs
- molasses
- honey
- vanilla
- buttermilk
- orange zest
- dark brown sugar
- wheat flour
- wheat bran
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
I know the ingredient list is long, but trust me - this combo makes one killer muffin!
Tell Me How To Make The Batter
- Combine water and raisins in a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Transfer the puree to a large mixing bowl.
- Add brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and orange zest.
- Mix until well combined.
- Add wheat flour, bran, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix until just combined.
- Fill your muffin cups with batter, topping them all the way to the top of the cup. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
After the muffins are baked you'll want to:
- Immediately invert the muffins on a baking sheet.
- Transfer to a cooling rack.
- Serve warm.
Where Can I Buy Bran
Bran is readily available at most grocery stores. It can be found in the baking aisle near the flour. Sometimes it can be found in the health food section. It is also available on amazon.
Are there different kinds of Bran?
There are two common types of Bran:
- Wheat Bran
- Oat Bran
Wheat bran has a higher quantity fiber and contains about twice as much fiber as Oat Bran. Wheat bran has less side effects associated with a high fiber diets - like bloating. For these reasons I have chosen wheat bran for this recipe.
Rather than turning your nose up at bran - embrace it! You'll be so glad you did.
Looking For More Muffins?
Are you looking for more muffin recipes? Be sure to check out our:
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Mimi’s Copycat Molasses Bran Muffins
Ingredients
Glaze
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 3 tablespoon dark Karo syrup
- 3 tablespoon melted salted butter
- ½ tablespoon water
Muffins
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup wheat bran
- 1 cup wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Glaze
- In a small bowl prepare glaze by combining 3 tablespoon sugar, 3 tablespoon brown sugar, 3 tablespoon dark Karo syrup, 3 tablespoon melted butter, and ½ tablespoon water. Stir until well combined.
Muffins
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare muffin pan by liberally spraying each cup.
- Evenly distribute glaze between each muffin cup (about ⅓ tablespoon in each).
- In your blender combine raisins and 1 cup water. Blend for 20-30 seconds until smooth.
- Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl.
- Add ¼ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup honey, 1 tablespoon molasses, 1 egg, ⅓ cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, ½ teaspoon orange zest, and ⅓ cup brown sugar to the bowl and mix until well combined.
- Add bran, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Mix until just combined.
- Fill each muffin cup to the top.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean and the tops bounce back.
- Immediately invert onto a baking sheet and transfer to a cooling rack.
- Serve warm.
Video
Notes
Where Can I Buy Bran
Bran is readily available at most grocery stores. It can be found in the baking aisle near the flour. Sometimes it can be found in the health food section. It is also available on amazon.Are there different kinds of Bran?
There are two common types of Bran:- Wheat Bran
- Oat Bran
Nutrition
Diane says
I just made these and they taste GREAT!! The only problem I had was that my batter was much more liquidy than yours. As a result, when I inverted the muffins onto a baking sheet, some of them kind of collapsed. Do I need to wait a bit before putting into my muffin pan so that the bran absorbs some of the liquid? I’ll definitely make them again, but maybe I need to cut down on the water.
Kadee says
You may need to bake your a bit longer. Every oven is different and different altitudes can effect baking times as well. You'll want a toothpick inserted to come out clean before you remove them from the oven.
MARY Stripling says
Can I use the glaze on other things like pork chops, hams, etc?
Kadee says
I don't see why not!
Ruth says
I would like to make these, but I'm wondering if it is okay to use Kellogg's Oat Bran cereal, crushed?
Kadee says
I've not tried that. If you do, please let me know if it works!
shaka khan says
This is crap. A commercial for BlendTec!!!
Kadee says
Dear Shaka Khan, I'm sorry you feel this way. I'm not quite sure how to respond, because I have never been paid by Blendtec. I purchased my own Blender and reached out to them to offer a discount to my readers. I develop, photograph, and post recipes online for free - I am in no way a salesperson for Blendtec. I'm sorry you feel frustrated about my reference to the blender I used to create this recipe in an entire post about how to make delicious bran muffins. We will continue to post our recipes for free and recommend products that we find beneficial.
Emily Kemp says
I'd love to start the day with these, honey muffins are my fav!
Lisa says
I love their bran muffins and their carrot bread. I need their carrot bread recipe also!