Ricardo's Bran Muffins and My New Little 'Muffin'

 

How would you like to have warm, fresh muffins any day for a month with no further effort than scooping the dough into muffin cups and baking them?

This healthy and delicious muffin recipe was shared my friend, Monique, at her blog La Table de Nana recently.  She has shared them and other wonderful recipes of Ricardo's before but sometimes I need a reminder :) Ricardo Larrivée (known simply as Ricardo) is a food celebrity in Quebec and throughout Canada. 

The muffin 'batter' recipe makes a generous amount which can be stored in the refrigerator for up to month!  Simply scoop out as many portions as you want, and bake.  I added chopped dates (Monique's suggestion) and also chopped, dried cranberries.  I like adding a pecan streusel to the some of some of them.  Wonderful!  The possibilities are endless.  You could add any dried fruit or nuts you like.  You could even add a few fresh blueberries to the muffin cups as you scoop in the batter.

They are moist, delicious and a wonderful way to start the day!

I would like to introduce to you our 4-day-old, 3rd grandson, Bo.  He was born on Monday, January 18.  Our daughter and Baby Bo are both doing well!  Our hearts are full of love and happiness! Our other two grandsons are pretty excited to have a baby brother too :)

Ricardo's Bran Muffins

Adapted from Ricardo Cuisine

Printable Recipe

Note: You will need a very large bowl and storage container to accommodate this recipe.

Makes about 4 dozen, depending on size

5 cups (1.25 litres) whole-wheat flour or unbleached all-purpose flour  (I used 1 cup WW flour and 4 cups AP flour)
3 cups (750 ml) bran cereal (l used original All-Bran)
3 cups (750 ml) wheat bran (or wheat germ)
1 cup (250 ml) oat bran
2 cups (500 ml) brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) raisins or other dried fruit (dates, cranberries, apricots...)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) baking soda
2 teaspoons (10 ml) salt
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground nutmeg
4 cups (1 litre) buttermilk
1 1/2 cups (310 ml) canola oil
1 1/4 cups (310 ml) water
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup (75 ml) molasses (I used honey)

Topping of your choice (walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, chocolate Chips

I mixed 1/3 cup of chopped pecans with 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tablespoon brown sugar and made a streusel topping (makes enough for 6 muffins)

In a very large bowl, combine the flour, cereal, wheat and oat bran, brown sugar, dried fruit, baking soda, salt and spices.

In another bowl, blend the remaining ingredients. Add to the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until the mixture is barely moist. Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake the muffins (see note).

With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or butter the cavities.

Cook the muffin batter as-is or add the toppings of your choice. Fill the cups with batter up to the edge because it barely rises. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Cool. Unmould and cool completely on a rack.

The unbaked muffin batter will keep for up to 30 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You can bake muffins fresh daily or at any time by baking the desired quantity at the last moment. You can also bake and freeze them. Just thaw in the microwave for mornings in a hurry or bake at 180 °C (350 °F) for about 15 minutes to get a crunchy muffin top.