Pumpkin Bran Muffins

Move over muffin man! There's a new baker in the house!!

I love a good muffin. Who doesn't?! I mean, muffins are the only acceptable excuse to have a cupcake with your morning coffee because they don't have frosting. However once frosting gets involved, it's a cupcake and you need to pull yourself together. Hey, I don't make the rules, I just find ways to bend them...by making muffins. Like these scrumptious Pumpkin Bran Muffins. They're not too sweet which I love and the added chopped dates gives them these little moist pockets of sweetness that will keep you going back for just one more, over and over again.

Honestly, the only reason I got to this recipe was because I started craving bran muffins, which I hadn't had in over a year, and I happened to have a can of pumpkin puree that I wanted to clear out of the kitchen pantry. 1 hour later and here we are.

The recipe started off very simple and was reinterpreted from a classic bran muffin recipe that I found online, and experimented from there. So if you prefer the classics, then by all means, skip right on past this post. But If you want to try something a little different that is the perfect level of sweetness and has a little protein kick, then give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

The Ingredients:

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup bran
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
71g chopped dates (should yield 1/3 cup)
1/4 cup protein powder **
1/2 cup pumpkin puree

** For the protein powder, I would recommend using a plain and unsweetened so that it doesn't combat with the other flavors. Vanilla would work too, but may add a little more sweetness.

The How-To:

Start by getting your oven pre-heated to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and grease a muffin tin with a non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine your oil, egg, vanilla extract and brown sugar. Whisk to combine.
Add in your pumpkin puree and coconut milk and whisk until everything is well incorporated.
Next you will begin adding in the dry ingredients: your flour and bran, baking soda, baking powder, salt and protein powder.
Now using a silicone spatula, mix your wet and dry ingredients until everything is fairly well combined, avoid over-mixing so that you don't over-develop the gluten and end up with dense and gummy muffins. Gross.
Now add is your chopped dates and give the mixture a couple final stirs to make sure that everything a combined and the dates are well dispersed throughout the batter.
Fill your muffin trays about 2/3 the way and give the tray a good tappity-tap on the counter to get out any trapped air bubbles and make sure that the batter is well settled in.
Bake between 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
If you have the willpower to resist, cool for about 5 minutes on wire rack. If you have no willpower, well I hope that you're not overly attached to the layer of skin on the roof of your mouth. Either way, ENJOY!!

-Yields 12 muffins

This recipe is seriously so easy to throw together and I have been really enjoying sharing these tasty treats with friends and family. And whats great about it is that you can add or leave out certain ingredients to fit your macro and nutritional needs, like adding more protein powder, using coconut oil over vegetable oil or banana instead of pumpkin.

What is your favorite muffin?

Nutritional Facts:

Per serving - 1 muffin per serving

209 calories
Fat: 7.6g
Carbs: 32g
Protein: 5.4g

ENJOY!