Imagine my dismay when being gluten-free meant no more bran muffins.
Seriously.
Every Autumn I collect two things: apples and pumpkins. I make apple sauce or apple butter and toss Ziploc bags full of the stuff into the depths of my chest freezer.
The pumpkins you ask? Those get special treatment. They get halved, seeded, roasted and gutted. Then they too wait patiently in the freezer until the day they can be transformed into something delightfully delicious.
When I decided I wanted to make muffins with some of my frozen pumpkin, I didn't just want any muffins. I wanted bran muffins. Of course. And the grocery store had cinnamon baking chips on clearance after the holidays - so naturally those would find their way into this recipe as well...
Most commercial oat bran contains only one ingredient: oat bran. That does not, however, guarantee that every brand is 100% certified gluten-free. I do not have Celiac's, and my intolerance is not severe enough that I am required to buy gluten-free oat products. If you have a severe condition, make sure that your oat bran is certified. And make sure the product you're using is not meant to be a cold cereal. You want one that is labeled "hot cereal".
These muffins are delightful. Just sayin'. They could certainly be done in a mini-muffin tin and cooked for about half the time. I considered that option. You could also use a jumbo-muffin pan and make them larger. That would, obviously, require more cooking time. I think that standard muffins are just the right size for breakfast. I serve them with fruit or egg whites - delish!
Pumpkin Pie is one of my all-time favorite desserts. That is what inspired this recipe. The mixture of brown sugar, spices and molasses is what has been going into my mother's pumpkin pie for decades. Yes. Decades. I like the depth of flavor that the molasses adds. And I adore that these muffins are super moist and not overly sweet. I'm actually pretty proud of these little creations. My husband grabbed one off the cooling rack as soon as he walked in the door from work. No questions asked.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Bran Muffins
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
Yield: 12 muffins
- 1 1/2 cups dry Oat Bran (the hot cereal - do not use a cold cereal like All Bran - make certain it's gluten-free)
- 70 grams good quality Gluten-free Flour (about 2/3 cup)
- 1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar, lightly packed
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
- 1 tsp ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground Ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground Cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 large Egg Whites (or 1/3 cup liquid Egg Whites)
- 1 cup Pumpkin Puree, canned or fresh (if using fresh, make certain it is drained well)
- 2 Tbsp Molasses
- 1/2 cup Almond Milk (I used Almond, you could use any other non-dairy or even regular Skim Milk)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 cup Cinnamon Baking Chips
- 1-2 Tbsp Turbinado Sugar
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: oat bran, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well to ensure there are no lumps of brown sugar.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk wet ingredients until well combined: egg whites, pumpkin, molasses, milk, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined; stir in cinnamon baking chips.
- Distribute batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with turbinado sugar.
- Bake muffins for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the certain comes out clean.
- Once finished baking, move tin to a cooling rack and cool muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then remove from tin and allow to cool completely on the cooling rack...Unless you want to enjoy one warm and fresh out of the oven. I know I usually do!
*Loosely adapted from Taste of Home*
Happy gluten-free baking!
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