Scholarship Winning Refrigerator Apple Raisin Bran Muffins

Refrigerator Apple Raisin Bran Muffins are a morning staple in our house. Easy prep, easy to find ingredients and a breakfast muffin the whole family enjoys.

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Raisin Bran Muffins are a morning staple in our house. Easy to prep, easy to find ingredients and a breakfast muffin the whole family enjoys. Make these Refrigerator Muffins your own by adding additional dried fruit and nuts.

Johnson & Wales University is the culinary college I attended and they held a scholarship for incoming freshmen. It was a recipe creation competition and I can’t remember all the categories, because that was over 20 years ago, but I do know that I won second place in the conversion category. The idea was to convert a recipe to make it lower in fat and higher in fiber than a traditional recipe. This is that recipe. It won me a $6000 scholarship and I am sharing the recipe with you for free!

Raisin Bran Muffins Ingredients:

Raisin bran cereal - I use the store brand but use what you like.
flour, all-purpose - read about the different types of flours and when you should use them in my baking definitions post.
Sugar - white sugar
Baking Soda
Cinnamon - ground cinnamon
Salt - I use kosher salt but regular table salt will work.
Eggs, beaten
Buttermilk (or 1 quart milk with 2 Tablespoons white vinegar added)
Applesauce - a great substitute for oil in baked goods.
Apples, diced
Raisins
Oatmeal for garnish

Refrigerator Apple Raisin Bran Muffins Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a muffin pan by spraying each cup with non stick pan spray.
In an extra large bowl or a stock pot, combine the first 6 ingredients and stir the dry ingredients until combined completely.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk and applesauce.
Pour the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Add the raisins and chopped apples to the batter.
Stir until combined completely.
Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour or even better, overnight. The bran flakes will absorb the moisture of the batter making a delicious, healthy muffin mix.
Spoon the batter into pan sprayed muffin tins, filling ⅔ full.
Sprinkle with oatmeal for garnish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and remove from the pan immediately.

Can the muffin batter be stored in the refrigerator?

You can store the batter in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Give it a stir before you scoop the batter into the muffin tins.

Can these muffins be frozen?

Once baked, these muffins will freeze quite nicely. Be sure to store them in an airtight container or wrap each one individually to keep the air away from them. If adding them to a lunch box, they will be completely thawed by lunchtime.

What other fruit can be substituted for the diced apples?

I am a huge fan of apples in this recipe but feel free to substitute in diced pears, peaches or even fresh cherries. All would make great substitutions or additions to this recipe.