These muffins are loaded with fiber thanks to the pumpkin, whole wheat flour and bran! Bran is very inexpensive in the bulk section at stores like Winco. The large batch of muffins freezes great, or you can keep them on the counter for a few days (if they last that long).
Ingredients
3 Cups bran
1 cup boiling water
2 cups buttermilk**
2 eggs
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 ½ cups white flour
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix bran and boiling water in a large bowl. Let sit while you gather other ingredients
Add buttermilk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder salt and chocolate chips into the bowl with bran. Mix well to be sure that there are no clumps of baking soda or powder.
Fold in the flours. Mix until just combined, the flour should just barely be mixed in. If you overmix your muffins will be rubbery.
Spray muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. Fill muffin cups ¾ full with batter.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the middle muffin comes out clean.
** to make buttermilk, mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (or white vinegar) in 1 cup of milk and let sit for 5-10 minutes. For this recipe, mix 2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar in 2 cups of milk to make 2 cups of buttermilk.