Muffin Monday: Nut-Bran Muffins

Nothing like a dollop of cream cheese to make a yummy muffin even yumm-um-um-ier.

I know, it's been a while. But Muffin Monday is back! Maybe the rest of you aren't muffin maniacs like me, but I think that everyone could use a fluffy, sweet/savory baked good every now and then :)

A couple days ago I tried my hand at making a muffin that includes a few of my favorite things: cinnamon, sugar, dates, and butter. How could this go wrong? The recipe is altered from one that comes from Gregg R. Gillespie's book 501 Muffins (Plus Biscuits, Doughnuts, Popovers, Fritters, Scones, and Other Quick Breads).

You'll find the recipe below, but use this link to download a printer-friendly PDF version. 

 I just got a new camera, so I've gone crazy with the pictures!

<----- Here are my ingredients, delicately arranged 

 Mixing the gooey gunk together ----->

These muffins come out pretty dry; you can't say I didn't warn you.

 I will be forever indebted to Mr. Alton Brown for informing me of the use of a cookie-baller for apportioning muffin batter.

Yield one dozen muffins

INGREDIENTS:

Topping:

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used extra in the muffins)

·         1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Muffins:

·         1 cup whole wheat flour

·         1 cup bran flakes

·         1 tablespoon baking powder

·         1/4 cup granulated sugar

·         1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

·         1/4 cup chopped pitted dates (hard to have too many of these)

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1 large egg

·         1/4 cup milk

·         1/3 cup melted butter

METHOD:

1. Put the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Mix up your yummy-sweet topping in a small bowl or ramekin and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, blend together the flour, bran flakes, baking powder, 1/4 cup sugar, walnuts, dates, and salt. In a medium bowl beat the egg until foamy. Gradually beat in the milk and melted butter. Combine the two mixtures, blending until the dry ingredients are just moistened. 
3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups (a cookie-baller works really well for this). Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the topping mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes (or burn your mouth by taking a bite right now). Serve warm, or invert onto a clean tea towel to cool completely.