Barb here's the one that I love which is also a low glycemic recipe. I made these for breakfast for many months. Really good. APPLE BRAN MUFFINS - Light & diet friendly They're in the green light - go ahead zone of Rick Gallops' glycemic index list of breakfast or snack foods for those who are trying to keep their sugar and insulin levels down. Ingredients: 3/4 cup All-Bran cereal 1 cup skim milk 2/3 cup whole wheat flour Sweetener - equivalent to 1/3 cup sugar 2 teasp baking powder 1/2 teasp baking soda 1/4 teasp salt 1 teasp allspice 1/2 teasp cloves 1 1/2 cups 2/3 cup raisins 1 large apple peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes 1 low-cholesterol (omega-3) egg, lightly beaten 2 teasp vegetable oil 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 1. Mix the All-Bran and skim milk in a bowl and let stand for a few minutes. 2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir in the oat bran, raisins and apple. 3. In a small bowl, combine the egg, vegetable oil and applesauce. Stir, along with the All-Bran mixture, into the dry ingredients. 4. Spoon the mixture into an oil-sprayed 12-muffin tray. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Source: The Glycemic Index Diet Rick Gallop ©2002 Random House Canada My Notes: You may have to find the oat bran in a diet or health food store I used fructose for the sweetener but for anyone on a strict no-sugar diet use the artificial sweetener of your choice. Otherwise non-dieters use granulated white sugar. The mixture is thick and dry-ish. Keep stirring until all is well mixed and don't think you made a mistake in the amount of milk. SharonCb

Glad to share the recipes. It's funny, but I've got muffins from both Cook's recipes in my freezer right now. I like to alternate back & forth between them. Here's the Cook's "Big Bran Muffins" with my notes. One warning, the batter needs to sit at least an hour before baking. I usually leave it overnight. Big Bran Muffins with Raisins and Dates Cooks Illustrated 9/1993 My Notes: This was the best recipe so far that used wheat bran. It makes a dark, moist, flavorful bakery style muffin. I tried it with ½ cup oil & ¼ cup applesauce; I didn't notice any change in texture or taste. The biggest problem was getting the time & temperature right. 20 mins. at 400 is NOT enough time to cook the insides. The first time I made them, I had to re-bake the first batch after the tops came off revealing a batter filled center. The second batch came out much better. Cook's Illustrated Note: You can substitute one cup oat bran for the wheat germ for a wholesome but slightly more dense muffin. (I have successfully used all wheat bran and half wheat & half oat bran; I've never tried the wheat germ.) Makes about 20 muffins 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (I use 1½ cups AP flour & 1 cup + 2 tbsp. white whole wheat) 4 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 tablespoon baking powder 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon table salt (I omitted) 3/4 cup vegetable oil (I use ½ cup oil & ¼ cup applesauce) 2 teaspoons honey 1/4 cup molasses 1 cup light brown sugar plus 2 tablespoons, packed firm (I omit the extra 2 tbsp.) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used vanilla powder) 3/4 teaspoon maple extract (I used maple powder) 1 1/2 teaspoons butter extract (I omit) 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 2 cups buttermilk 1 cup toasted wheat germ (I use another cup of wheat bran or a cup of oat bran) 1 cup wheat bran (not the cereal) 1/2 cup whole dates, plumped with scalding water, drained, and coarsely chopped (I poured boiling water over dried, sweetened cranberries, to plump & to remove excess sugar) 1 cup dark raisins, plumped with scalding water and drained (I poured boiling water over dried, sweetened blueberries, to plump & to remove excess sugar)) 1. Whisk first five ingredients together in a bowl; set aside. 2. In a large bowl, whisk next 7 ingredients together. Whisk in eggs, then buttermilk, wheat germ, and bran. Let batter rest 10 minutes. 3. Whisk dry ingredients into wet mixture to partially blend. Continue mixing batter with a rubber spatula, making sure that ingredients at the bottom are incorporated into the batter. Fold in raisins and dates. 4. Cover batter with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. 5. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat over to 400 degrees. Lightly grease the top surface of 2, 12-cup muffin pans, use liners if necessary. (I bake in batches because I don't own two 12 cup muffin tins) Using an ice cream scoop, place a portion of the batter into each cup, filling to the brim (I've learned that it is important to fill them all the way to the top). Fill empty muffin cups with water to ensure even baking. Bake until muffin tops brown, about 20 minutes. (Cook's Illustrated Note: If muffins are not done after 20 minutes, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake until muffins test done.) [I bake 10 minutes at 400 and then 15-20 minutes at 350. I check with a pick, making sure center of muffins are completely done.] Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. MIMIS BRAN MUFFINS Makes 12 muffins 1 cup flour 1 cup bran 4 tsp dry milk powder 1/4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed 1/4 cup dark corn syrup 2 Tbsp molasses 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 egg 1/3 cup raisins 1/4 tsp grated orange zest 1/2 cup water Glaze: 3 Tbsp sugar 3 Tbsp dark brown sugar, packed 3 Tbsp shortening 2 Tbsp corn syrup 2 tsp water Distribute about 1 Tbsp glaze onto bottom and sides of 12 muffin tins with pastry brush. Combine flour, bran, milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir well and set aside. Mix together brown sugar, dark corn syrup, molasses, oil and egg in separate bowl until well blended. Puree raisins and orange zest with water in blender or food processor. Add to liquid ingredients. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Immediately invert onto foil or wax paper to cool.

Cindy's Cafe Bran Muffins Makes 3 dozen 2-inch muffins. from Cindy's Cafe and Catering, Mt Vernon, Ill. (from Ford Motor Travel Magazine) 1 cup boiling water 1 cup All-Bran Cereal 1 cup raisins 1/3 cup sugar + (¼ cup molasses - ¼ cup honey) ½ cup Crisco 2 eggs 2½ cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 2½ cups baking soda 2 cups buttermilk 2 cups 40% Bran Flakes Cereal 1 cup pecan pieces Mix water, All-Bran and Raisins in a bowl and let stand. Cream suger and Crisco in large mixer bowl. Add Eggs one at a time. Sift Flour and Baking Soda together. Add alternately with Buttermilk. Mix well. Add Bran Flakes and Pecan Pieces. Stir in the Bran and Raisin mixture. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake in a preheated 400o oven for approximately 20 minutes. Note: For muffins to rise properly, they must be baked in a thoroughly heated 400o oven. For Cake (12 x 9 pan) start at 400, then reduce to 350. Bake for 55 to 60 min., or until center of cake test indicates. Personal Note: When I make this recipe I use 3 cups of All-Bran (instead of the 1 cup) and eliminate the 2 cups Bran Flakes entirely.

You might want to try these one at a time to see what works. Reduce temperature first. Make sure muffins are in the middle of the oven, not on a lower rack (if you didn't already do that). Place muffin pan on a cookie sheet to insulate from the bottom if there's still excess darkening. If you're waiting till a skewer comes out clean to remove the muffins, back off a bit and remove when just a very few crumbs cling. They'll bake further from residual heat while resting and be a bit more moist. Waiting till there are no crumbs you risk dryness. You didn't mention tops browning excessively, but those could always be covered with foil part way into the baking process. If you find you really like this combo and are baking them regularly, at some future point you might think about switching out the milk for buttermilk or yogurt and adding some soda. Their keeping qualities will improve and I keep thinking it would be a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the other ingredients. Soda wouldn't hurt with the honey anyway. Good luck.