What do you get when you cross a ginger snap with an oat bran muffin? You get a great muffin with all the health benefits of a fiber filled muffin and all the yummy taste of a ginger cookie. It’s a win -win that is perfect for the fall season. This ginger oat bran muffin is great to enjoy for breakfast, your morning coffee break or when you need a little something-something to get you through the day. This muffin recipe makes 12 muffins. Molasses is a unique ingredient in this recipe. It is what adds that special flavor in ginger snaps, ginger cookies and gingerbread. There are several varieties, a fancy molasses, a cooking molasses and a black strap molasses. The black strap variety has the most nutrients, with the fancy molasses having the least. I use the cooking molasses which still has lots of nutrients and minerals. It is a good source of available iron and calcium. The cooking molasses also contains magnesium, potassium and selenium. As you may already know from my other articles, oats contain a special fiber called beta-glucan, which has been proven to have the beneficial effect of removing cholesterol from the digestive track, before it can enter the blood stream. The oats, oat bran, ground flax seed and cinnamon are great sources of fiber and help to stabilize blood sugar, which may be beneficial for people with diabetes, insulin resistant metabolic syndrome and obesity. I like using unbleached flour instead of white bleached wheat flour because then the immune system in our gut does not have to deal with the bleaching agents in the flour. You can enjoy the fall season with these guilt free treats and reap all their benefits from their nutritious ingredients. The fresh ginger and orange zest, add an interesting layer of flavor.
Ginger Oat Bran Muffins
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup ground oat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup molasses (fancy)
1 ripe banana mashed
1 egg
1/3 cup olive oil or real butter
3/4 cup water or milk
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with papers, or grease well. In a mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients including the spices. In a second bowl mix together the wet ingredients including the mashed banana, eggs, butter, water and stir well. Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry and stir until just mixed, do not over stir or your muffins will be tough. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.