Pear Bran Muffins
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Pear Bran Muffins are wholesome and tasty treats made with sweet, juicy pears and hearty bran for a nourishing bite. They’re lightly spiced and perfectly moist; great for breakfast or an anytime snack!
I am still loving pears. They are so juicy and flavorful yet firm and delicious. While I love eating them for lunch, I can’t always eat as many as I buy for the week. So when it comes to the end of the week I often start thinking of things to bake with my leftover fruit.
I’ve been baking with pears a lot lately. My favorite pear recipe is Brown Butter and Pear Blondies. We like Pear Ginger Bread as well. For a cookie bar these Oatmeal Cookie Pear Bars can’t be beat.
This past week I remembered seeing a delicious looking pear bran muffin recipe. I love the taste of bran in muffins and thought it would be perfect with the sweet pears. The best part is that these are heart healthy and perfect for breakfast.
What is Bran?
Bran is the outer layer of cereal grains like wheat, oats, or rice. It’s packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which is why it’s often added to baked goods like muffins or cereals for a healthy boost. It has a slightly nutty flavor and a hearty texture.
Instead of using butter in these muffin I used applesauce and olive oil as the source of fat. Both are better for you and make the muffins moist and delicious.
There are also some spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger added to the muffin that adds a spicy flavor them.
Can I use different spices?
You can use your favorite combination of baking spices. Apple pie spice is great use in there. You can also use any combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom, and cloves.
Finally, the pears add a juicy flavor that is perfect against the bran flavor. If you don’t have pears you can always use apples or a combination of both.
I love these muffins for breakfast or as a snack on the go. I feel good about eating them and they aren’t too heavy and don’t weight me down. If you don’t have pears you could easily substitute apples instead.
Pear Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 c. whole wheat flour
- 1 c. bran
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 c. low fat milk
- 1/4 c. applesauce
- 1/4 c. olive oil
- 1 egg
- 1 pear cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tine with 12 cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the whole wheat flour, bran, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
- Add the milk, applesauce, olive oil, and egg and stir until combined.
- Fold in the pear pieces.
- Fill the muffin cups 2/3 of the way full. Sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Notes
