This recipe is vegan.  Makes 1 dozen muffins.

I tried this recipe for the first time the other day and loved it!  These muffins are moist and delicious any time of day!

Here’s the website I got this recipe from: http://plantfueled.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/recipe-whole-wheat-low-fat-vegan-bran-muffins/

At first I was a bit skeptical.  I’ve tried vegan recipes before and have often been disappointed and left with that ‘it just doesn’t taste the same’ feeling.  This recipe surprised me so I thought I would share it here.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!  

Ingredients:

– 3 cups wheat bran

– 2 cups non-dairy milk (I used almond, but you could use rice, etc. – I wouldn’t recommend soy as it’s an estrogen mimicker and can throw your hormone balance off)

– 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I made my own but store-bought is fine as well, just try to get one without all the additives)

– 1/2 cup molasses (I used a combination of molasses and honey when I made these, but then it’s not considered vegan, so do with it what you will 😉 )

– 3 teaspoons ground flax seeds

– 2 teaspoons baking soda

– 2 teaspoons baking powder

– 1 teaspoon salt

– 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

The original recipe also called for 1 1/2 cups of raisins; I left these out as I prefer my bran muffins raisin-less, but it’s up to you.

Here are the instructions straight from the original website:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. Mix wheat bran and milk in a bowl. Let sit for 15-20 minutes. You want it to get reallymushy and gross.

3. Add in applesauce, molasses, and flax. Mix. Add in baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Mix until all flour is moistened. Fold in raisins. This will be very thick…more like cookie dough than muffin batter:

4. Pour into muffin pans. I use silicone, so I don’t have to grease them. If you are using metal, than either grease of use muffin liners.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. To see if they are done, insert toothpick. It should come out clean. If not, put them back in the oven for a minute or two.

I found the batter wasn’t really any thicker than typical muffin batter…maybe it was just because I didn’t add the raisins…?  There’s enough batter to fill 12 muffin cups and they work out to be nice and large (but not hugely jumbo).  Happy baking!