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    Home » Muffins & Scones » Mini Pumpkin Bran Muffins with Chocolate Chips

    Published: Oct 25, 2010 · Modified: May 2, 2017 by Carolyn

    Mini Pumpkin Bran Muffins with Chocolate Chips

    This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    38 shares
    I am part of a small subset of society, a rather exclusive club, that actually really likes bran muffins. For me, it’s not an acquired taste or something I choke down because they are good for me. I’ve always liked them, ever since I was a kid. The ones my mother used to make were actually from a packaged mix (sorry, Mum, if I am giving away one of your trade secrets!). But they were heavenly straight out of the oven and slathered with butter. And while in grad school in Tempe, Arizona, I fell in love with the honey bran muffins from the Coffee Plantation. I could never quite figure out how they got the bottom of the muffin soaked in honey like that, but it was a mystery I was quite happy to leave unsolved as long as I could simply pay a few dollars for one.

    The problem with so many bran muffins, and the reason why so many people don’t like them, is that they are often as dry as sawdust. Many is the time I have bought a bran muffin, thinking it would be the healthier choice, and ended up just throwing it away. Bran needs a lot of moisture to make it palatable, a fact which woefully escapes many commercial muffin-makers. Fortunately for me, I found a great recipe several years ago in my favourite basic reference cookbook, The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. With both buttermilk and applesauce to offset the bran, these muffins are anything but dry, and the deep flavour from brown sugar and molasses is wonderful.

    I wanted to make something for the kids to have as a healthy snack at school, and the crisp fall weather had me thinking pumpkin muffins. But my daughter wasn’t a fan of the last pumpkin muffins I made, so I knew I had to shake things up a little. I wanted them to be healthful, but to feel like a treat to the kids. So I decided to take the basic bran muffin, swap pumpkin puree for the applesauce, reduce the sugar and sub in whole wheat for all-purpose flour. And then I tossed in a handful of mini chocolate chips, to lure my willful daughter into eating them.

    The Results: From the mouths of babes: “yummy”! These little muffins got rave reviews yesterday morning, and both kids requested them this morning as school snacks. Score one for Mummy! My husband quite liked them as well, and devoured two of the larger ones after his morning run. I am told that the pumpkin flavour goes well with the bran, and that they are incredibly moist. And the little taste of chocolate doesn’t hurt either, I am sure.

    I found that there was too much batter for my 24 cup mini-muffin tin, so I also managed to make 6 regular-sized muffins. Perfect for all your family members, large and small!

    Mini Pumpkin Bran Muffins with Chocolate Chips

    1 ¼ cups buttermilk (I use buttermilk powder and water)
    1 cup unprocessed wheat bran
    1 cup pumpkin puree
    1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
    ½ cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
    ½ cup packed brown sugar
    1 large egg
    4 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
    2 tablespoon light molasses
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 cups whole wheat flour
    2 teaspoon baking powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    ½ teaspoon ground ginger
    ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
    ½ teaspoon salt

    Preheat the oven to 375F and generously grease 24 mini-muffin tins and 6 regular muffin tins. Or use just the 12 larger muffin tins.

    In a large bowl, stir buttermilk and bran together and let sit for 5-10 minutes. If you are using buttermilk powder, simply add 5 tablespoon to the bran and then stir in 1 ¼ cups of water. Whisk in pumpkin, raisins, chocolate chips, brown sugar, egg, melted butter, molasses and vanilla.

    In a smaller bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Gently fold flour mixture into the bran mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined.

    Spoon batter into prepared tins, to just the top of each tin. Bake until tops are set and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 14-18 minutes for mini-muffins, and 20-24 minutes for larger muffins.

    Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool another 10 minutes before serving.

    Makes 24 mini muffins plus 6 regular muffins, or 12 regular muffins.

    38 shares

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    Nutritional Disclaimer

    Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Lisa Stafford says

      June 14, 2012 at 12:49 pm

      This recipe looks yummy, but with the wheat flour and bran, it is not gluten free. With the brown sugar, it is not low carb. I am confused. I thought all your recipes were low carb and gluten free.

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        June 14, 2012 at 1:21 pm

        Hi Lisa. No, this one was from a LLOOOOOOOONNNNG time ago, when I was still putting up some regular recipes. I still do put them up at times, things I’ve made for my kids. If it doesn’t say (Low Carb and Gluten-Free) in the title, it’s not. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Laurie says

      June 05, 2012 at 6:34 pm

      What a great recipe! The muffins are soft & fluffy, just sweet enough, and healthy. Love it! I used whole wheat white flour, and ran out of pumpkin just shy of a full cup, so I topped it up with applesauce. I also doubled the cinnamon, increased the ginger slightly, and left out the raisins.

      These are terrific and will be a staple in our house for sure. Thank you! Delicious!

      Reply
    3. Courtney says

      October 16, 2011 at 1:45 pm

      I love bran muffins and pumpkin never thought of combining the two – yum!

      Reply
    4. Nelson says

      November 06, 2010 at 10:51 pm

      I love bran too. Guess I'm as strange as the rest of the bran lovers.

      Thanks for sharing this recipe

      Reply
    5. A Little Yumminess says

      October 27, 2010 at 10:09 pm

      Great use of pumpkins!! These look yummy! Would make a great after school snack

      Reply
    6. Cajun Chef Ryan says

      October 27, 2010 at 7:19 pm

      Pumpkins, fall, and baking is in the air these days, and in your oven too!

      These muffins are a wonderful way to enjoy both fall flavors and higher fiber fare.

      Reply
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