Nearly Perfect Bran Muffins

The past month has flown by; I can't believe it has been that long since I posted on SG.  So much has happened.  That guy formerly known as the boyfriend gets a new name "Husband Elect" HE for short, therefore I have become a wedding-blog-stalking nut.  I also finished my sixth semester of classes in grad school, meaning I have had the entire week free of school.  

While wandering aimlessly about the grocery store today, I thought of the perfect afternoon activity: bran muffins.  I grabbed some bran and some eggs and went merrily on my way.  When I got home, I was shocked to find that every bran muffin recipe I found required buttermilk.  Determined to not return to the store, I convinced myself that yogurt would work.  Searching yogurt and bran muffins actually revealed a link to cookiemadness.net.  This recipe had way too much oil and sugar, so I added honey, removed the sugar and threw in a banana for good measure.  The results were far better than I could have guessed.  The best news is they are pretty healthy.

Yogurt Bran Muffins

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 banana
• 2 cups unprocessed bran (find in bulk bins)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 ½ cups plain yogurt
• ½ cup chopped pecans

1.       Combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside

2.       In a large bowl mash the banana, add eggs, honey, vanilla and oil, and thoroughly combine; mix in bran until coated

3.       Add yogurt ½ cup at a time to the banana-egg mixture, alternating with flour mixture

4.       Mix until just combined, add pecans if desired

5.       Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly brown around the edges, move to cooling rack and store in airtight container