The secret to a great bran muffin? Rasin puree. Genius, no?

My mom's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies recipe when I was a kid had ground raisins

but when I tried to make them as an adult I didn't have the old-fashioned heavy meat grinder that attaches to the counter like she did. My food processor made a horrid gummy mess out of the job. Not salvageable.

I wonder if the raisin puree method above would substitute? I might have to revisit that recipe (if I can find it).

 
My husband LOOOOVES those...

... and I've never been able to make a bran muffin I'll be able to eat WITH pleasure

I'm definitely trying this recipe, thank you!

 
Okay, so I made these at 6 this morning. They are DELICIOUS! The only

tweak that I would do next time is to add some toasted walnuts because I am a nut lover. Traca thank you for posting. I am planning on making his molassas cookies next.....

 
Hi Traca, here's the one I found, from the Jan 9 Seattle Times.....

A puree of raisins and an egg yolk in the dough makes these molasses cookies extra chewy. A light icing made from the egg white makes the cookies extra special.
For the cookies:
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup corn oil or canola oil
1 egg yolk
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light molasses
2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Icing:
1 egg white
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.) Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 baking sheets with baker's parchment.
2.) In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the raisins and water. When the water begins to boil, reduce heat to low and let the raisins simmer until they are plumped and soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer the raisins and their cooking liquid to the work bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture becomes a rough puree. With the motor running, stream in the oil, sugar, molasses and egg yolk.
3.) In separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and salt. Add the flour mixture all at once to the raisin mixture and pulse the food processor on and off just until the mixture comes together to form a sticky dough. Do not over mix.
4.) On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 4 pieces and cut each piece of chilled dough into 6 balls and arrange the balls on the baking sheet, allowing plenty of room for the cookies to spread. Bake 5 minutes, then move the top tray to the bottom and the bottom tray to the top; continue baking until cookies are crackled and lightly browned, about 5 minutes more.
5.) While the cookies are baking, whip the egg white until it holds soft peaks then stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and transfer the icing to a small plastic sandwich bag and snip off one corner to make an impromptu pastry bag. When the cookies come out of the oven, drizzle them with the frosting and pop them back in the oven for 1 minute. Allow the cookies to cool to room temperature before moving them off the sheet pans.

http://www.westcoastcooking.com/

 
Well, I guess I messed them up... smileys/frown.gif

Not sure what happened, but they never rose that much, looked like hockey pucks (sigh)

The taste is not bad, my beloved ate two for breakfast, and said they were good.

But, half an hour later, he said "you know what I think you could do to make them even better"? smileys/smile.gif

anyway, I am now in an official quest to make the bran muffins of his dreams...

 
Maybe I overmixed.... (more)

but I also halved the recipe, and that could have messed up a little, as I eye-balled the 1/2 egg.

Also, my muffin pan was for very large muffins, I think I should have just made the full recipe and divided in six large muffins.

oh, well - there's always next time, and I can try again...

 
Yes, several failure possibiities there.... I always hate the time and ingredients wasted smileys/frown.gif

 
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