Banana-Nut Oat Bran Muffins

Gluten-free is not for me.

I suppose the gluten-free crowd might appreciate these, but only because they’re used to eating muffins made without flour. Me? I’m a gluten-lover. Bring on the wheat! These have good flavor but the texture is a complete disappointment. I thought they’d be interesting, but alas, they are not.

The good news, however, is that not everybody agrees with me. I offered up the whole batch and they were snapped up right away, so I don’t consider these a failure. They’re just not my thing.

The first thing I did was toast walnuts. I expected it to take 5-10 minutes, so I set the oven timer for 5. At four, the smell of the toasting nuts was strong enough that I pulled them out, finding a number of burnt ones in there. At least I knew they were done.

I pulled out the burnt ones individually and pitched them. Nobody likes burnt nuts.

Next, I put the dry ingredients into a bowl: oat bran, brown sugar, and baking powder.

After whisking, I felt sad. I knew what would cheer me up. . spices! I added some cinnamon and nutmeg.

I felt better instantly. I whisked those in, then turned my attention to the foul-looking bananas that had called out to me to try this recipe in the first place.

I mashed them, then made them even more unpleasant to look at by adding milk, an egg (instead of two egg whites), and agave nectar. It looked better after I gave it a good whisk.

And then, simply and obviously, I poured this into the bowl with the oat bran. (I keep typing “flour” and having to correct myself. This recipe has no flour!)

Once that was fully mixed, I folded in the unburnt walnuts, and a quarter cup of mini chocolate chips.

After they were properly mixed in, I scooped the batter into muffin cups, dividing it up as evenly as I could.

I baked for about fifteen minutes. They came out looking pretty good.

And they really aren’t so bad. The flavor’s there, but for me, I need that fluffy texture you get from a great flour-based muffin. Fortunately, there are others out there who appreciate these muffins…and they are happily eating them while I move back to a world of comfort flour.

BANANA-NUT OAT BRAN MUFFINS RECIPE (original)

My version of Banana-Nut Oat Bran Muffins with Mini Chocolate Chips (adapted from a guest post on Two Peas & Their Pod by Brown Eyed Baker)

ingredients:

2-1/4 cups oat bran
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 cups 1% milk
3 small bananas, mashed
1 egg
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

directions:

Heat oven to 425, and line or spray a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a large bowl, pour in the oat bran and add the baking powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl, mash the bananas. Add in the milk, egg, and agave, and whisk until well combined.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and stir with a spatula just until combined. Fold in the walnuts & chocolate chips.

Divide the batter as evenly as you can among the muffin cups, and bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool in the pan for another 5, then move to a wire rack.