Esther Brody's Bran Fig Muffins

 Sept 6/78:  Mom wrote:

The doctor told me to bake bran muffins for Dad.  I been doing just that as everybody likes them so 20 muffins don’t last long.

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November 29, 2012:  Muffins taste especially good now that Bryan is making them! 

These ones are like Fig Newtons, except better.

Figs, by the way, are an excellent source of calcium.

BRAN FIG MUFFINS :  from 500 Best Muffin Recipes  by Esther Brody

¾ cup whole wheat flour (plus 1 tbsp to mix with figs)

1 cup chopped dried figs

½ cup All-bran cereal

½ cup oat bran (If oat bran is not available, substitute with more All-bran.)

1/3 cup wheat germ (or substitute with more whole wheat flour)

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

¼ cup canola oil

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.      Grease a jumbo muffin tin (makes 6 large muffins).

3.      Put a tablespoon of whole wheat flour into a small bowl.

4.      Chop figs and keep pieces separated by mixing with the flour in the small bowl.

5.      In a large mixing bowl, mix the rest of the flour, All-Bran, oat bran, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

6.      Beat egg in another bowl (medium-size) and then beat in buttermilk and oil.

7.      By hand, stir liquid and dry ingredients together and spoon into muffin tin.

8.      Bake 20 minutes.

Alternative Cooking Note:   Esther suggests 375 degrees but the muffins weren’t done in 20 minutes so we increased the temperature to 400 and baked them another 5 minutes. 

 (If cracks on top of the muffin look wet, the muffin is not done.) 

Be sure to test the muffins with a wooden skewer --  undercooked bran muffins are nasty!