Trail Mix Bran Muffins

Today I'm on a little work retreat and decided to make some treats for the gang.  I have been craving bran muffins and was attracted to the recipe for Raisin Bran Muffins in my fave cook book, yep you guessed it: Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood.  But my dilemma: I didn't have any quinoa flour and it was 11pm when I started baking... hmmmm.  I googled a bit and found that I could actually ground my regular quinoa in the food processor and make my own flour!  The only thing was that I was doing this late at night and didn't want to wake a child or a husband so I will admit it could have been ground a wee bit finer.  But the muffins turned out pretty good and people commented that they enjoyed the crunchiness of the whole quinoa seeds that seemed to float to the top!

The other main ingredient switch-up that occurred was that I accidentally poured almond milk rather than regular milk that I was going to turn into "sour milk" - has anyone ever attempted to make sour milk with almond?  One other change: I hate raisins, so opted for trail mix!

Trail Mix Bran Muffins
Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup fancy molasses
2 large eggs
1 cup almond milk
1 1/2 wheat bran
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup fruit & nut mix, chopped

Method:
Preheat oven to 425degrees and spray mini muffin pans with non-stick spray.  Combine sugar & oil in a large bowl and mix until smooth.  Beat in molasses and eggs.



Stir in almond milk and bran - set aside.

In another bowl, mix all of the remaining dry ingredients and then gently fold into the bowl with the wet ingredients.  Don't overmix!!

Bake for about 14 minutes.  Let cool in pans for about 5 minutes before removing and let cool completely on racks.