Blueberry Banana Buttermilk Bran Muffins

This recipe is adapted from Eating Well's Banana-Bran Muffins recipe:http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/banana_bran_muffins.html. I settled on this one after searching for a whole wheat blueberry muffin recipe that used buttermilk and bran...I guess a blueberry-bran muffin isn't what you'd call a classic muffin flavor, but these turned out okay and they're healthy, as far as muffins go.

Blueberry Banana Buttermilk Bran Muffins

2 large eggs

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top

1 cup mashed ripe bananas, (2 medium)

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup unprocessed wheat bran

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup frozen blueberries, tossed in 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 6 large muffin cups with cooking spray.

2. Whisk eggs and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in bananas, buttermilk, wheat bran, oil and vanilla.

3. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients; add the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX! Stir in floured blueberries and half of the walnuts. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups (they’ll be quite full). Sprinkle with walnuts and brown sugar.

4. Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and spring back when touched lightly, 35-40 minutes. If the tops start browning (or walnuts are on the verge of burning) place a piece of foil on top and lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

5. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.