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Think bran muffins are dry and boring? Think again! These Honey-Glazed Almond Cherry Bran Muffins are moist, flavorful and decently healthy!
I guess you could say that one of my mottos is, "If you find a good thing, RUN with it! That's definitely the story of these Honey-Glazed Almond Cherry Bran Muffins.
The perfect bran muffin
Several years ago, I went on an extended search for "the BEST bran muffin recipe" ... I was on a mission with specific criteria. Here are the qualifications that guided my search and testing:
- I wanted a decently healthy, grab-and-go breakfast option that would also be super delicious and satisfying. I was tired of muffins that were loaded with sugar and, although delicious, much more suitable as an indulgent dessert than a way to start the day.
- They had to be moist but also have a tender crumb.
- No flat tops! I love to peek in the oven towards the end of the baking time and see a pretty dome on my muffins, those bakery-style rounded tops!
- A one-bowl recipe. Being a little lazy, I don't want to drag out and wash a bunch of extra dishes.
- Buttermilk. I love baking with buttermilk as, to me, it's quite magical. The gurus at AllRecipes agree and can read more about the amazing chemistry of buttermilk in this article.
- A beautiful presentation. I'm a big believer in the mantra that "we eat with our eyes" before a morsel enters our mouths so I wanted a recipe that would yield visually appealing bran muffins.
All boxes checked!
It took a bit of testing and tweaking but, with a bit of testing and tweaking I was happy to check all the boxes. The original recipe, the Honey-Glazed Bran Muffins pictured below, was a definite winner. So, as I mentioned above, I've been running with it ever since.
These Honey-Glazed Almond Cherry Bran Muffins are the 6th variation! You can check out all of the others in this post! The recipe is such a classic that my daughter-in-law, Lindsay, created a video to demonstrate the super-easy technique:
This new recipe has the addition of dried cherries and crunchy almonds but is otherwise the same.
A healthy breakfast option
If you check out the ingredient list for most muffins, you'll quickly discover that they're really (what I call) "cake in disguise". With 100% all-purpose flour, lots of sugar, and often a mountain of buttery crumble, although being super delicious, there's minimal worthwhile nutrition.
On the contrary, these Buttermilk Bran Muffins have whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, lots of wheat bran, eggs, buttermilk, oil, raisins and a relatively small amount of sugar in the cast of characters, making them much more suitable for a healthy breakfast. The cool thing about these little guys is that, with all the fiber in these bran muffins, along with 3 eggs, I've found that they keep me satiated for hours.
Additional perks
I love that these Honey-Glazed Almond Cherry Bran Muffins are super moist, emerge from the oven with beautifully rounded tops, come together with just one bowl and a whisk or spoon and are made with buttermilk which makes them light, tender and super moist!
The dried cherries give each bite a taste of sweet/tart and the almonds add a bit of crunch. I like to use a few of each on the top of each muffin before baking for a pretty presentation. The honey glaze is the crowning glory that takes a nice-looking muffin to a beautiful new level.
We gave a plateful of these Honey-Glazed Almond Cherry Bran Muffins to the workers who building my new kitchen addition (so exciting!) earlier this week. They all gave them a thumbs up and returned the plate without a crumb remaining! I think these will go on your frequent flyer list too!
Cafe Tips for making these Honey-Glazed Almond Cherry Bran Muffins
- I LOVE this OXO muffin tin. It's sturdy and holds up well. I like that the cups are a little deeper which makes for nice, tall muffins. (If you have a baker on your gift list, this pan would be a hit!)
- I like to give the dried cherries in this recipe a rough chop before adding them to the batter. Dried cherries are quite large so it's nice to distribute the sweet-tart flavor throughout each muffin.
- I like to use Blue Diamond Lightly Salted Roasted Almonds for this recipe. They're really crunchy and aren't too salty
- This recipe calls for whole wheat flour. I use King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour. It has the same nutritional benefits as regular whole wheat flour, but it's not quite as coarse.
- If you don't have whole wheat flour, this recipe also works well with 100% all-purpose flour.
- Don't over-mix the batter. Once you add the flour, stir just until it's mixed in. Over-mixing muffins can make them tough.
- Dried cranberries can get really dried out. I like to plump for 5-10 minutes before adding them to the batter. It makes the muffins extra moist.
- Don't skip the honey-butter glaze. In addition to being delicious, it seals in moisture and gives the muffins a beautiful shiny presentation.
- The glaze recipe, as written, is enough for the top of the muffins. I like to also brush the glaze on the sides so I usually double the recipe.
- This recipe calls for wheat bran. Wheat bran is inexpensive and available at most grocery stores, but it can be a little tricky to find. Most stores that carry Bob's Red Mill products will carry it and will stock it near the oatmeal or in the flour section. Health food stores will often carry it in bulk. If you can't find wheat bran, check with your store manager or order it online and have it delivered to your door.
- No buttermilk? No worries! To make your own buttermilk, place 2 tablespoons of vinegar into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add milk (I like to use whole milk, but use whatever you have) to measure 1½ cups. Stir the mixture and allow it to sit for 5 minutes, then add to the batter in lieu of buttermilk.
- These bran muffins freeze well. Allow the muffins to cool completely, then freeze on a sheet pan, uncovered, for 1 hour. Once frozen, place muffins in a ziplock bag or airtight freezer container. Pull out as many as you want and allow them to thaw before serving.
- If you fill the muffin tins almost to the top, you'll end up with 12 large muffins. You can also fill them ⅔ full and end up with 16-18 smaller muffins.
- You can make this batter the night before, store it in the fridge then bake up the muffins in the morning.
Thought for the day:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things were made; without Him,
nothing was made that has been made.
In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it
And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
What we're listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.
Think bran muffins are dry and boring? Think again! These Honey-Glazed Almond Cherry Bran Muffins are moist, flavorful and decently healthy!
- ¾ cup dried cherries more for garnish, if desired
- ½ cup mild-flavored oil sunflower, safflower, avocado, canola, vegetable etc.
- ½ cup brown sugar light or dark
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup molasses I use unsulfured molasses
- 1½ cups buttermilk I like whole milk buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups wheat bran see Café Tips
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt I use Morton's kosher salt
- ½ cup roasted almonds roughly chopped (more for garnish, if desired) ( like Blue Diamond lightly salted almonds)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon butter I use salted butter
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin (for large muffins) generously with non-stick spray, taking care to spray the areas around the top of each cup as well, so that when the muffins rise up, they won’t stick to the pan. You can also make 16-18 smaller muffins if you prefer.
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Place the cherries in a medium-size heat-safe bowl and cover them with boiling water. (I boil a cup of water in my microwave.) Allow the cherries to sit for 10 minutes to plump up then drain well and pat off any excess water with a paper towel. Roughly chop the cherries by running a large, sharp knife through them a few times. Set aside.
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Whisk together oil, sugar and eggs in a medium-large bowl until smooth. Add molasses, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
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Sprinkle baking powder and baking soda over the top of the egg mixture and stir to combine.
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Add the flour and wheat bran and stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated, don’t over-mix.
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Fold in the chopped cherries and the almonds.
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Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin cups, filling almost to the top for 12 large muffins or ⅔ full for 16-18 smaller muffins. Sprinkle a few extra chopped cherries and almonds over the top of each, if desired, and press them slightly into the batter.
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Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375˚F and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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Allow to sit in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a cool rack.
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While the muffins are cooling, combine butter and honey in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high power for 30-40 seconds until the butter is melted. Stir well until smooth.
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Lightly brush the butter mixture over the tops and sides of the warm muffins. For a thicker glaze, double the butter and honey.
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Store in an airtight container. They will keep well for 2-3 days. These muffins also freeze well.
See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.
If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.
Nancy says
Absolutely delicious - light and moist. I topped with slivered almonds before baking . Next time I’ll add them to the batter as well . Many thanks
Nancy Belwood Ontario 🇨🇦
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Wonderful! Thanks for the review, Nancy!
Nanci says
I just got the muffins out of the oven and they were delicious! I used my trusty old Ecko muffin pans and filled them to the brim and got nice rounded tops. However it made 16 not 12. Which is fine so we have more. I didn't see anywhere in the recipe where you added the salt in so I added it with the leavening ingredients. All in all a great recipe and the glaze is definitely required! It's so good I had to lick the basting brush!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Nanci, so happy you enjoyed the muffins! Thanks for sharing your review.
Nanci says
I clicked on the OXO muffin tin link and it sent me to a YouTube video. Otherwise I do plan to make these for a friend who had surgery
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Nanci! Not sure how that happened but I have corrected it. Hope you enjoy the muffins!
Diane says
A new kitchen! No one deserves it more than you Chris. So exciting! I hope one day you will share photos with us.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Diane! It's super exciting! We will definitely share pictures - although it will be months down the road before we're up and running in the new kitchen!
Anne Amodeo says
Can I use frozen cherries, drained and cut in half in place of dried cherries? Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Anne, yes, you could do that but I would drain them well and then press out any excess liquid between several thickens of paper towels as you don't want to add extra liquid to the batter.
Sheila says
These look delicious. Can I use All Bran cereal in place of the 2 cups of wheat bran listed?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Sheila, I haven't tried AllBran in these muffins. It's a very different product than wheat bran so I'm just not sure how they would turn out.