Whole Wheat Bran Muffins with Figs and Pecans

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I’m a big fan of making muffins on Sundays and eating them with a few egg whites throughout the week as breakfast, but it’s been a really long time since I’ve made any (obviously, the whole non-functional oven contributed to that).  I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a while now, and with the leftover buttermilk from the German Chocolate Cake, it seemed like a perfect time to make these.

These were easy to whip up and I had nearly all the ingredients on hand. I adore figs – fresh, dried, whatever. They are, by far, my favorite dried fruit so I try to keep them on hand at all times. And, well, I’m as much of a nut freak as I am a cheese freak, so I usually have 6-8 varieties of nuts in my cabinet or freezer (I know, it’s a sickness).   I’ve actually never baked with oat bran before, so I decided just to buy what I needed from the bulk bins at Whole Foods.

I did make some changes to the original recipe. I substituted cardamom for part of the cinnamon, because I like it with figs. I also used less oil, but added some applesauce to make these light and moist. I used canola oil rather than vegetable – what is the point of including healthy things like oat bran, figs, and whole wheat flour and then adding vegetable oil, which is loaded with saturated fat? Yeah, I don’t get it, either. And, I upped the whole wheat to AP flour ratio.

These are a healthy, tasty muffin. I love the amount of vanilla in this recipe, combined with the spice from the cinnamon and cardamom. The chopped figs were a great change of pace from the typical raisins you’d find in muffins, too. I’ll definitely be making these again.

Whole Wheat Bran Muffins with Figs and Pecans

Adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes 14-16 muffins

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (packed) diced dried figs (about 6.5 oz.)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
1.25 cups lowfat  buttermilk
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400. Line your muffin tins with cups and spray them with some cooking oil.

Whisk the flours, bran, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, canola oil, and applesauce. Then stir in the eggs, one at a time, and the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and then fold in the figs and pecans.

Spoon into lined cups and bake about 16-20 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Nutritional Information Per Muffins (16 muffin yield): Calories: 176 / Fat: 7.2g / Saturated Fat: 0.8g / Carbs: 26.1g / Fiber: 2.6g / Protein: 3.7g


Whole Wheat Bran Muffins with Figs and Pecans

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10 thoughts on “Whole Wheat Bran Muffins with Figs and Pecans

  1. Cardamom and figs…. That’s a beautiful combination. I always try to healthy-ify my muffins too, so I love your modifications.

  2. good morning Elly, these muffins must be reaaaaally tasty! I love the idea of the figs in the combination…I wish I had one for breakfast, as I am preparing to go to the office right now!!!

  3. I am sitting here, wondering what I can have with my morning coffee and you show me this!!!!!! Not fair, Elly!! I live the combo of figs and nuts and in a muffin, it must have been sublime!!!

  4. Wow Elly, I think I can have this muffin for breakfast everyday, because I love figs very much, and also like pecan in there.

  5. I try to make healthy muffins every week and I always like trying something new, so I’m really happy to have found this recipe of yours! And when you mentioned how the amount of vanilla and the spices mmm, I knew I had to save the recipe.

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