And why do we love oat bran? It has more protein and much higher levels of fibre than regular oatmeal. So it can keep little tums working better and feeling fuller for longer. On top of that it’s higher in nutrients and antioxidants. Not a bad for a little apple muffin, right?
Summary
Prep: 5 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes
Ages: Little Kids to Teens
Difficulty: Easy peasy
Makes: 12 apple oat bran muffins
Are oat bran muffins healthy?
Many store-bought muffins use white flour, refined sugar and even processed ingredients like high fructose corn syrup. These don’t offer much health-wise.
They are high in fats, lack nutrients and the refined sugar and flour mean that blood sugar levels spike, and often crash afterwards. If you’ve seen your child have an almighty meltdown shortly after eating a plateful of sugary desserts, then you’ll have a suspicion already of how blood sugar levels can affect their moods.
So we love how oat bran can offer slower releasing energy, and keep kids feeling fuller for longer. It can also offer nutrients like thiamine, magnesium and phosphorus along with a lot more fibre than quick oats.
They’re especially high in soluble fibre called beta-glucan. We should note that the NHS doesn’t advise high fibre foods for babies or toddlers, as it can fill up their tummies and not leave room for meals. So it recommends them over the age of 5.
This aside, a lot of us today don’t get the recommended daily amounts of fibre in our diets. So sneaking it into a yummy muffin snack is definitely a plus.
Hearty apple oat bran muffins
Ingredients
Apple oat bran muffins
- 100 grams oat bran (just over 1 cup)
- 90 grams rolled oats (1 cup)
- 250 grams grated Bramley cooking apples (about 2 medium apples)
- ¾ cup honey (180 mls)
- 1 egg
- 120 grams melted butter slightly salted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- Oil spray or butter (for greasing)
Oat bran crumble
- 2 tablespoons light brown Muscovado sugar (20 grams)
- 12 grams butter, chopped into small cubes while cold
- 7 tablespoons oat bran (75 grams)
- ½ tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350°F) fan setting.
- Mix together the melted butter and honey in a medium sized bowl until combined.
- Add in the egg, vanilla essence and grated apples. Mix again.
- In a small blender, whizz together the rolled oats until they’re like a coarse flour.
- Add in the blended rolled oats and the oat bran to the mixture, along with the cinnamon and baking powder.
- Take a 12 piece muffin tray and spray the base with an oil spray or line with muffin cases.
- Spoon in the batter to each muffin case until level with the top.
- Make the oat crumble by adding the ingredients into a small bowl. Spend a few minutes mashing them together with your fingers. You should end up with a coarse crumble.
- Sprinkle this over the tops of your muffins.
- Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden. Give them a couple of minutes to cool down.
Apple oat bran muffins – our step by step guide:
Mix the melted butter and honey together
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350°F) fan setting.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk the melted butter together with the honey.
Add eggs, vanilla essence and grated apples
Whisk in the eggs, add the vanilla essence and stir in the grated apples.
Blend the oats
Blend the rolled oats in a blender until it’s like a coarse flour.
Add the dry ingredients
Add the blended rolled oats, oat bran, cinnamon and baking powder to the mixing bowl.
Grease the base of a 12 hole muffin tin with butter or oil spray. Or you can use muffin cases. Spoon the batter into each of the muffin cases.
Make the oat bran crumble (optional)
Mix the cubed butter with the brown sugar, oat bran and milk. Keep crumbling it with your fingers until you get a coarse mix.
Bake until golden
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
A knife poked into a muffin should come out clean when they’re cooked through.
Enjoy these apple oat bran muffins while they’re still warm
Hearty apple oat bran muffins
Ingredients
Apple oat bran muffins
- 100 grams oat bran (just over 1 cup)
- 90 grams rolled oats (1 cup)
- 250 grams grated Bramley cooking apples (about 2 medium apples)
- ¾ cup honey (180 mls)
- 1 egg
- 120 grams melted butter slightly salted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- oil spray or butter (for greasing)
Oat bran crumble
- 2 tablespoons light brown Muscovado sugar (20 grams)
- 12 grams butter chopped into small cubes while cold
- 7 tablespoons oat bran (75 grams)
- ½ tablespoon milk
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350°F) fan setting.
-
Mix together the melted butter and honey in a medium sized bowl until combined.
-
Add in the egg, vanilla essence and grated apples. Mix again.
-
In a small blender, whizz together the rolled oats until they’re like a coarse flour.
-
Add in the blended rolled oats and the oat bran to the mixture, along with the cinnamon and baking powder.
-
Take a 12 piece muffin tray and spray the base with an oil spray or line with muffin cases.
-
Spoon in the batter to each muffin case until level with the top.
-
Make the oat crumble by adding the ingredients into a small bowl. Spend a few minutes mashing them together with your fingers. You should end up with a coarse crumble.
-
Sprinkle this over the tops of your muffins.
-
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden. Give them a couple of minutes to cool down.