That recipe must yield quite a lot of muffins. I'd recommend you halve it for experimentation.

That being said, if it were me, I would substitute half the crisco for applesauce or prune puree. I might even sub the remaining crisco with coconut oil.

I'd replace the eggs with egg whites, or use a combination of egg whites and a flax seed slurry.
(1 egg = 1 TB ground flax seed mixed with 3 TB water - let sit for 10 minutes to congeal).

That does seem like a lot of sugar to me, so if it were me, I'd just reduce the sugar, or use maple syrup (but then ease up on the other liquids), and maybe stir in frozen berries before baking to add sweetness. I'm not a fan of artificial sweeteners.

I'm also not a fan of artificial sweeteners, so I'd cut the sugar to 2 cups and replace half of the Criso with apple sauce, or prune puree, which has a natural sweetness.

I'd also swap the other 1/2 cup of Crisco for butter. You aren't saving any fat, but there are no transfats or hydrogenated anything, it's at least more natural.

I think you'll have to keep some egg yolk, but you might try using 2 whole eggs and two egg whites, since you have the buttermilk in there for some moisture.

I'm not sure I'd try all these changes at once. Well, yes I would, but I tend to be reckless about such things. (grin)

And, as pointed out, that's one big recipe. you could start with half batches and maybe just make one or two changes and proceed from there.

Annie

Thanks, Susy and Annie. You're right. It is a huge recipe and makes tons of muffins. I'm not crazy about baking so once these are mixed I can bake off batches gradually and freeze left-overs each time. The batter can stay in the frig for a couple of weeks.

I have tried blueberries and also added orange zest for some variation. I contemplated using flax meal but never thought of a slurry. Good idea.

Now, about the prune puree. Do I buy it that way or do I puree them? Haven't been shopping in the prune dept. for quite a while.

I think cutting the recipe in half for experimenting is a good idea. I also think subbing half of the Crisco with applesauce would be OK. But you need some fat, so I'd follow Annie's suggestion and use butter for the other half or even coconut oil.

I personally don't see a problem with using four whole eggs when you've got a batter that includes 2 cups bran, 3 cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups white flour, and 4 cups bran cereal.

I'm not sure the flavor would be what you like if you remove too much sugar. You could probably remove 1 cup without changing the taste too much. But again, you've got a gigantic amount of batter to sweeten.

A lot of good ideas have already been shared, but I would suggest you find a different recipe that meets the criteria you are looking for rather than altering your Refrigerator Bran Muffins recipe.

And to be brutally honest, there are a lot better choices that are low-sugar, low-fat and high-fiber than this recipe (even if you alter it). This recipe happens to be one of the most contrary recipes when it comes to muffins, and breaks all the "rules" for quick bread.

By that I mean:
--Muffins are designed to be made quickly and immediately popped into the pre-heated oven. The leavening reacts once when it's mixed with the liquid ingredients, and again when it hits the heat of the oven. That's why it's important to have the oven pre-heated for anything that is leavened with a chemical leavening (baking soda or baking powder). When the leavening agent sits for a a prolonged period of time in the batter in the refrigerator - it is rendered useless which accounts for very little in the way of loft in these muffins.

--As flour sits in liquid for a prolonged period of time the gluten develops. Every step of making muffins is so you DON'T develop the gluten - everything from the fat in the recipe, what method you use for making muffins (cake method or traditional method) to keeping mixing to a bare minimum aids in keeping the gluten from developing. Over-developed gluten makes for tough muffins, which is a characteristic of this recipe. When gluten is over-developed this batter gets "stringy". When leavening gasses have to work hard to drill through the long gluten strands it leaves narrow holes that run from the bottom to the top.

This recipe was designed for the busy homemaker so they could have the batter ready in the refrigerator and quickly make muffins as needed during the week, but the refrigerator storage of this recipe is now considered a health risk since there are raw shell eggs in the batter. It is now suggested, for food safety, you bake all this recipe rather than use it for a period of time from the refrigerated batter. Freezer storage of baked muffins is a better choice.

When you alter recipes you need to understand the science each ingredient brings to the recipe. Sugar and fat are tenderizers, so when you reduce those you will alter the tenderness. You also need to consider the ratio of ingredients one to another. Proportions need to be maintained of the ingredients that are tenderizers (fat and sugar) and those that are structure builders (flour and eggs). When you reduce fat and sugar you will sacrifice the tenderness unless you add an ingredient/s to help adjust for that. If you use egg whites instead of the whole egg to reduce total fat, you will quickly find egg whites are a drying ingredient without the yolk. The fat and lecithin found in the yolk add a whole different dynamic.

I'd suggest going to the Eat Better America web site where you will find a number of "healthified" muffin recipes, including bran.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Eat Better America

I knew I asked the right people. Thanks for all of the input.

Grainlady, I'm amazed at how complicated the science of simple muffins can be. I thought that it was actually best to leave the bran sit overnight to soften the grain. Overall, I think you may be right that it is time to look around for a new recipe. The site you sent looks like a keeper for lots of healthy food choices. I'll need to spend some time there.

Thanks to all.

many muffin recipes aren't exactly healthy, I always told my kids that they were actually just cupcakes in disguise, some have so much sugar and fat that cupcakes would actually be healthier, I think!

I agree on the Eat Better America website, I've been getting their emails for quite some time now and they're pretty good at "healthifying" some old recipes. Some have been a complete bust and were inedible, but some were pretty darned good.

Eating Well and Cooking Light both have some good recipes on line too, as does Prevention magazine.

Annie

Hmm, I would sub softened butter for the crisco and cut the sugar back to two cups. Otherwise, I don't think it's bad at all. Overall, aside from the crisco, I think it's the carbs that make it so evil, not the eggs or the butter.
But I lost 30 pounds eliminating most carbs, (more bacon, less English muffins etc.)
The whole idea of what's healthy has many different viewpoints but generally, sugar is considered bad across the board as is crisco (always).
The other things that would raise healthy eyebrows would be the processed All Bran and whether or not the buttermilk was organic.

lv, I've been making the Bob's Red Mill bran muffins for several years now. They're really easy to make, taste good, are moist, and don't have any over-processed or strange ingredients. You might consider trying these because they really come together quickly. Here's the recipe:

Bob's Red Mill Molasses Bran Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup Wheat Bran (not a bran cereal)
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Raisins (I have used dried blueberries, Craisins, or dried cherries)
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Molasses or Honey (I use 1/4 cup each)
3/4 cup Applesauce
1/4 cup chopped Nuts (I usually omit)
2 Tbsp. Oil
2 Eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 400. Combine wheat bran, flour, baking soda and baking powder. Stir in nuts and raisins. In a separate bowl, blend applesauce, milk, molasses, oil and egg. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. (The batter is fairly liquid) Spoon into greased muffin tin (or paper muffin cups) and bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins. (When I leave out the nuts, I end up with more muffins.)