🍌 Healthy Banana Bran Muffins (Lower Sugar)

 

Yield: 24 muffins
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 16–18 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (28 g) butter, softened

• ½ medium ripe banana, mashed (≈ ⅓ cup) → replacement for applesauce

• ⅓ cup (65 g) granulated sugar (instead of ½ cup)

• 2 large eggs

• 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

• ½ cup buttermilk

• 1 ½ cups (213 g) all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 4 cups bran flakes

• ¾ cup (128 g) miniature semisweet chocolate chips (instead of 1 cup)

  • OR swap for dark chocolate chips, raisins, or chopped dates for more natural sweetness

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, mashed banana (the applesauce replacement), and sugar.

3. Add eggs, bananas, and buttermilk. Mix well.

4. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, bran flakes, and chocolate chips. Mix gently until just combined (batter will be lumpy).

5. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups ⅔ full.

6. Bake 16–18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

7. Cool on a wire rack.

Storage

• Store in an airtight container for 2–3 days.

• Freeze in resealable freezer bags for up to 1 month.

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✨ Sugar Savings

• Original sugar + chocolate chips: ~155 g sugar in the whole batch

• Reduced version: ~115 g sugar in the whole batch (~25% less)

They’ll still be sweet, but the bananas add natural sugar so you won’t miss much!

Standard Muffin Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup skim milk (or whatever milk you have)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
• cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place muffin liners in a muffin tin and spray with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
3. In another bowl, add the sugar, milk, vanilla, egg, and oil. Whisk to combine.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined; batter should be lumpy. Do not over mix.
5. Fill the muffin liners ¾ of the way up.
6. Add your favorite muffin flavors/additions (fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, oats, etc.). Take a toothpick and push the additional ingredients down into the batter and swirl them around a little.
7. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

If you are going to use a muffin addition that is not very sweet, like blueberries, it would be a good idea to roll that ingredient around in a little bit of sugar before you add it to the muffin batter.

The baking powder will start to react as soon as the wet ingredients are added to the dry ingredients. So, it's a good idea to have all of your additional ingredients prepared (ie. fruit peeled and chopped) before the batter is made. Original recipe can be found HERE 

Healthy Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

These are currently our favorite healthy muffin!  I have made them too many times to count, and we all love them.  They are delicious... and healthy.  They freeze wonderfully.  I often stick them in the freezer, and then my husband Anthony can grab a couple and take them to work for a quick breakfast. I also found these at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled/old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted (I have tried it with both, and we love both.  When I use coconut oil, I use extra virgin coconut oil, and it give the muffins a slight coconut taste.)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins, optional (I have never added them.)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease the muffin cups. Set aside..
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the oatmeal, applesauce, milk, egg, vanilla, butter and sugar. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt (and cranberries or raisins if using). Make a well in the center and pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir until just combined (Don't overmix or the muffins will be dense and dry). The muffin batter texture might be a bit different than other muffin batters.
4. Distribute the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake or the muffins will be dry.

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

These muffins were delicious!  They really did remind me of a doughnut!  I found this recipe at My Baking Addiction, and she adapted them from a King Arthur Flour recipe.

For the Batter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 to 1 ¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg, to taste (I used ¾)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
For the Glaze
3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely.
2) In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.
3) Add the eggs, beating to combine.
4) Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.
5) Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
6) Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.
7) Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.
8.) In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.
9.) When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Then dip them a second time.
10.) Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Muffins will keep at room temperature for about a day.

The Best Blueberry Muffins

These are my new favorite muffins. They have a blueberry jam-like mixture swirled into the tops as well as a lemon sugar topping. Yum! I even used 1/2 whole wheat flour, and you would never guess. I found this recipe a couple of places, but I believe it originally comes from the May/June 2009 Cooks Illustrated magazine. I first found it at Mel's Kitchen Cafe, and I followed her directions. (If you have not checked out her blog, you should. It is one of my favorites!)

Lemon-Sugar Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
zest from one lemon

Muffins:
2 cups frozen blueberries (or 2 cups fresh)
1 1/8 c (1/8 c = 2 tablespoons) plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the topping:

Stir together sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

For the muffins:

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

Rinse one cup frozen berries under cold water and spread on a double layer of paper towels to dry well. Bring remaining one cup berries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with a spoon several times and stirring frequently, until the berries have broken down and the mixture is thickened and reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Toss the berries that have dried on the paper towels in with the flour mixture. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl until thick, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in the butter and oil until combined. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. The batter will be lumpy with a few dry spots of flour – don’t overmix.

Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, fill the muffin cups until they are about 3/4 full. Spoon a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into the center of each mound of batter. Using a skewer (or a chopstick), gently swirl the berry filling into the batter using a figure eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over the muffins.

Bake until the top of the muffins are golden and just firm, 17-18 minutes. Cool muffins in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Note: If you are short on time, you can skip the cooking of the 1 cup of blueberries and just mix all 2 cups into the batter. I highly recommend making the blueberry mixture though.

Apple Muffins

1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk or yogurt
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups and set aside.

Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.Mix in the buttermilk gently. (If you over-mix, the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle.) Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

These muffins were so moist and full of flavor. You would never know they used whole wheat flour. I got this recipe from smittenkitchen.com, and she adapted it from King Arthur Flour.

Brown Sugar and Banana Muffins with Pecans

• 1/2 cup of butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 large)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped*

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a muffin tray with cooking spray.

Beat the butter at medium speed with a mixer until creamy. Slowly add the brown sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each one.

In a separate bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, cinnamon, buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in another bowl; add to the butter mixture alternately with the banana mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended after each addition. Do not over-beat. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tray, filling two thirds full. Sprinkle the pecans over each muffin evenly.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks. Serve slathered in butter if desired. Enjoy.

*Note: To toast the pecans, simply put in a dry skillet and cook on low for a few minutes until the nuts are toasted.

I got this recipe from this great site: fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com

Blueberry Muffins

½ c butter

1 c sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1¾ c flour

1 c sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 c frozen (do not thaw) or fresh blueberries

Cream together butter and sugar and then add eggs. Sift and add dry ingredients. Mix in sour cream and vanilla. Stir in blueberries.

Topping

¼ c butter

3-4 T flour

5-6 T sugar

Place batter in foil lined baking cups or a 9x9in baking pan. Sprinkle on topping and cook at 350° for 30min.

*Recipe can be doubled and put in 9x13in pan and baked for 45min.

Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins

1 c canned pumpkin
¼ c evaporated milk
1/3 c butter or margarine
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 2/3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
1 T flour
1 c blueberries

Streusel Topping
2 T flour
2 T sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
1 T butter

Mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, butter, sugar, and egg. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Fold in blueberries and flour.
Mix together ingredients for streusel topping. Sprinkle on top. Bake at 350° for 40min in 9x13 pan (or 20-25min in muffin tins).


Tip: Cream together the butter, sugar, and egg before adding the pumpkin and evaporated milk. Also, I typically substitute whole wheat flour for white flour, and you can barely tell. Store these muffins in an airtight container, and they will get moister by the day!

Banana Muffins

Banana Muffins

½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup Mashed Banana’s
¼ cup milk
2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp lemon Juice

Cream butter, sugar together. Add eggs banana, milk, lemon juice. Mix well add the remaining items.

Bake 350 for 17 min.
You can also make banana bread from this recipe just bake for an hour.