I make this muffin recipe most often in our home, with a regular whole wheat banana nut muffin recipe being a close second. I don’t mind making these that frequently because they rely completely on the bananas and apples for sweetness. Which brings me to a very important point. Fruit quality really matters in this recipe. Super sweet apples and nice spotty ripe bananas are a must.
I’ll be honest and say that the first time I made them, I was a little thrown because I was so used to the sweet cakey taste of regular blueberry, traditional bran, and lemon poppy seed muffins. Once you are not expecting them to be that sweet, they are absolutely wonderful, healthy and the perfect breakfast or snack. I hadn’t made them a while, and Greyson walked by the oven, saw them baking…and got a little (a lot) excited.
They are eaten up quick in our household, hope you like ‘em too.
Unsweetened Apple Banana Bran Muffins
Ingredients:
unsalted butter, softened (to grease the pan)
1 cup whole milk
1 ½ cups wheat bran
2 ripe bananas (about 2 cups), mashed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 medium apple, cubed into ¼-½ inch chunks
Directions:
Grease a muffin pan generously with unsalted butter. Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl combine milk and bran. Let the bran soak in the milk for ten minutes. In the same bowl add all of the ingredients, except for the apple. With a rubber spatula mix everything together until just combined. Add the apple chunks and turn batter until combined. With a soup ladle fill muffin tins ⅔ full with batter. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes before removing them from the tin.
g&b 