Categories
Breads Breakfast/Brunch Vegetarian

Spiced Fig & Pecan Oat Bran Muffins

Spiced Fig and Pecan Oat Bran Muffins
Spiced Fig and Pecan Oat Bran Muffins

Recently, I’ve been enjoying the blueberry bran muffins at Peet’s Coffee I’ve noticed how I don’t have my normal mid-morning hunger pangs as a result. So that set me to thinking it’s time to add bran muffins to my cooking repertoire. I purchased whole wheat flour and oat bran at Trader Joe’s as well as some dried fruits, like apricots, dates and… figs. So today, I tried a fig and oat bran muffin and it came out great.

I really tried to make this a healthy, low-fat recipe, so instead of my normal “stick of melted butter,” this recipe has a mixture of applesauce and canola oil for the fat. It has a bit of brown sugar, but not too much and no white sugar. And, of course, it has whole wheat flour and oat bran. The orange peel and spices make it a nice holiday (healthy) treat.

Spiced Fig & Pecan Oat Bran Muffins
Spiced Fig & Pecan Oat Bran Muffins

Spiced Fig & Pecan Oat Bran Muffins
Makes 14 Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose (bleached) flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup finely chopped dried Black Mission Figs
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
3 Tbsp apple sauce
2 large eggs
1 cup Stonyfield Farms Oikos Yogurt (or other Greek yogurt)
1/4 cup 2% milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Grated peel of 2 clementines (about 2 tsp)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line muffin tins with papers and spray inside of papers lightly with nonstick cooking spray (optional).

2. Mix together the first 9 ingredients (all dry) in a medium bowl. Stir in figs and pecans. Set aside.

3. Mix together the brown sugar, oil and applesauce. Whisk in the 2 eggs until well blended. Stir in the yogurt and the milk. Whisk in the vanilla and stir in the grated peel.

4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Don’t overmix. Drop batter into paper cups, dividing evenly.

5. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

6. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Spiced Fig & Pecan Oat Bran Muffins
Spiced Fig & Pecan Oat Bran Muffins
Categories
Breads Dessert Uncategorized Vegetarian

Apple-Carrot Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Apple Carrot Cupcakes
Apple Carrot Cupcakes

Day 3 of 14 Days of Apple and I decided I wanted to make an apple muffin/cupcake. I was looking around at different recipes for inspiration and guidance when I found one I like at MarthaStewart.com. That recipe calls for shredded apples and something about imagining myself taking an apple to a grater made me think of shredded carrots. I still have a scar on my thumb from shredding a carrot a little too aggressively when I was 12, but that’s another story. Anyway, I decided to split the four cups of shredded apples into two cups apples, two cups carrots et voila.

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