Used the slow morning (snow day) as an opportunity to try these. Yum Yum!! DH said, "Do not lose that recipe"! Mine look just like the picture above, and they are moist & flavorful. I had to hunt down my dk. corn syrup & powdered milk from the back of the cupboard, and messing up the food processor to puree the orange zest & raisins was more effort than I want to go through on a typical weekday morning. BUT the results of this recipe was more than worth the work. Wonderful with morning coffee, and I can't wait to have another with tea this afternoon after I'm done shoveling. Thanks, Sue, for sharing this one!

Emily, I'm sorry you had trouble. I think that too much flour might have been the problem. I know the recipe calls for 6 cups of flour, but whenever I make any kind of bread, I always hold back at least 1 or more cups. I only add more flour if I think the mixture is too, too wet. I forgot that I kind-of ran into the same problem you're describing. Even at the five cup stage, the flour mixture seemed more like a kneading dough than a batter. So I remember (now) adding about 1/4 -1/3 cup additional water to make it more batter-like. When I got the batter into the pans, I was so worried about over-proofing the dough. I didn't want to pop the pans into a hot oven and then watch the bread deflate. So I think I could have let the dough rise in the pans longer. I'm sorry you had trouble. Forgive me for not mentioning anything. This old gray mare's brain ain't what it used to be. I need to make a note on my copy of the recipe too or else the next time I make it, who knows what I'll remember. I hope you'll try the bread again. It really did turn out well. My biggest problem right now is that my husband keeps wanting to have "toast" snacks.

Here's a recipe for Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake that I used to make at a restaurant in San Francisco. I got the recipe from the Orowheat Bakery cookbook: Batter: 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 cup sour cream Filling and Topping: 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 2/3 cup cereal, such as granola, oatmeal, or Müslix 1/2 cup chopped walnuts For the batter, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. For filling and topping: Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Turn half the batter into a buttered 9 inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with half the brown sugar mixture. Cover with remaining batter and sprinkle with the rest of the sugar mixture. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes. Yield: 9 servings You might be able to adapt this for cupcakes.

While linnea56 seems to be looking for a more elaborate recipe, this is my favorite bran muffin. It's the one that Kellogg's used to have on the All-Bran box; they changed the recipe a few years ago to one I don't like as much. Be sure to grease (or spray with Pam) muffin cups; paper liners don’t work well with oily muffins. Our Best Bran Muffins from a Kellogg’s All-Bran package in the 1980s 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar (I've always used just white granulated sugar) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1-1/2 cups Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal 1-1/4 cups milk 1 egg 1/4 cup vegetable oil Stir together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder; set aside. In large mixing bowl, combine Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal and milk. Let stand about 3 minutes or until cereal softens. Add egg and oil, mix well. Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined. Portion batter evenly into 12 lightly greased 2-1/2 inch muffin-pan cups. Bake in 400 degree oven about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.