Nectarine Oat Bran Muffins

The very first oat bran muffins that I ever really liked came from a little bakery near our house in one of our old neighborhoods.  It was always such a treat to go there on Saturday mornings and bring home warm freshly baked muffins to go along with our morning tea and coffee.  Since we no longer live near that bakery, I miss my favorite oat bran muffins and I have been wanting to recreate a recipe similar to that one.  I’ve tried several oat bran muffin recipes, but I’ve never truly been satisfied with the results.  These Nectarine Oat Bran Muffins finally turned out exactly the way I wanted them to.  They are completely whole-grain, moist, and lightly sweetened with honey.  I adapted them from  Cookie + Kate’s Blueberry Honey Bran Muffins by using oat bran instead of wheat bran and increasing the flour to bran ratio.  I also added vanilla to complement the flavor of the nectarine, which intensifies and sweetens with baking.   For the best results, choose nectarines that are ripe, but not too soft.  As with any muffin recipe, fruit such as berries or raisins can be substituted for the nectarines, but the nectarines really are lovely in these muffins.  I love these warm from the oven, but they can also be frozen for longer storage.

Nectarine Oat Bran Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oat bran
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large nectarine or 2 small nectarines, small diced
• 2 teaspoons raw turbinado sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Grease or line 12 muffins cups.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the egg. Add the buttermilk, oil, honey, and vanilla.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated, being careful not to overmix.
5. Gently fold in the diced nectarine.
6. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with a little turbinado sugar.
7. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

Adapted from Cookie + Kate