Yesterday, a friend asked me what I like to eat for breakfast. Which was a little surprising, considering I had just (moments before) been thinking about that myself. I realized I am a serial eater, but not a cereal eater. Yes, I’m feeling very clever today. The only time I ever seem to want cold cereal is in the afternoon, straight from the box, by the handful, and not very often. Rarely for breakfast, with milk, unless under duress.
No, I tend to go in cycles (otherwise known as stuck-in-a-rut): oatmeal for a while, then muffins, moving on to granola with yogurt, and eventually toast with butter or homemade mini-bagels with cream cheese. Scrambled eggs with cheese, or salsa, or spinach (or all three) happens maybe 4 times a year. I make tons of pancakes, waffles, scones, cinnamon rolls, and coffee cakes, but those are really because my family gets in a very good mood when I do. Left on my own, I eat the first meal of the day more simply, with an eye toward my health. Yes, I’m that boring.
Which is where this recipe comes in. When I go through a muffin phase nowadays, I make three types, all from Ellie Krieger, the nutrition expert over at Food Network. And then I wrap them individually and freeze them, so that a warm morning muffin is only a 45 second microwave zap away. With three kinds to choose from, breakfast doesn’t have to be dull to be healthy. (I’ve already written about her apple pecan muffins. Another favorite of mine is her pumpkin muffin, and after I make some tweaks to her recipe, I’ll be sure to write about it, too.)
Today’s bran muffin knocks the socks off those two-pound, sticky, sit in your stomach like a rock, sickly-sweet things you can find at coffee counters everywhere. This muffin is light and moist, with a bit of chew from the dried figs. Using applesauce, honey, and a touch of molasses to sweeten the batter means these don’t taste like dessert. (I feel so virtuous!) Making them with whole-wheat flour and bran cereal ensures there won’t be a sugar crash mid-morning. Leaving out most of the fat saves those calories for later in the day. Did I mention how freaking good these taste?
Bran Muffins with Figs (from Ellie Krieger)
Ingredients
1 cup chopped dried figs, plus 3 whole dried figs
1 1/2 cups bran cereal (she recommends: All-Bran, and that’s what I use)
1 cup lowfat milk
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
1 large egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a standard muffin pan with cooking spray or grease with butter. Slice each whole figs into three slices lengthwise.
In a large bowl, combine the cereal and milk. Let sit until softened, about 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the whole-wheat flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the applesauce, honey, oil, molasses, and egg to the cereal mixture and stir until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Gently stir in the chopped figs, but not the sliced figs. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and top each muffin with a fig slice. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.
Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. If necessary, run a knife around the muffins to loosen. Unmold and cool completely on a rack. Unless you’re like me, and can’t resist having a warm, only slightly-cooled one before everyone else descends upon the kitchen and devours them.
