Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 C .

2. Cream shortening and brown sugar. Add molasses and eggs then beat together well.

3. Add milk then bran. [The wheat bran should have a chance to soak a little to soften it, so I prepare the muffin pans at this point].

4. Combine remaining dry ingredients in smaller bowl. Add fruit and coat with flour mixture.

5. Add flour mixture (and fruit) to wet mixture and fold together just enough to moisten all the dry ingredients. [Too much mixing will work the gluten and the muffins will not be crumbly].

6. Place mixture in greased [Pam does a good job] muffin pans about 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes. [I have found that I get best results with oven set just under 400 C mark and cook for full 20 minutes. Ovens vary].

This recipe was on the side of the Quaker natural wheat bran box. I have found that substituting various fruit for the optional raisins makes an excellent berry-bran muffin. My comments are enclosed in square brackets. [Uh oh, I usually use square brackets to denote my comments.

aem ]]

I use rhubarb when in season, select thin red stocks and chop into sections, apples chopped into cubes, wild blueberries (frozen whole), cherries (halved), etc. A mix of rhubarb, apples and blueberries turned out quite well. You can use more of some fruit than others. If the fruit turns mushy in cooking you must use less or the muffins will not stay together. Put in as much fruit as you can while making muffins that do not disintegrate, the 1/2 cup is a good starting point. Add fruit to the dry ingredients so that chunks are coated with flour before folding into wet.

Difficulty : moderate.

Precision : measure ingredients.

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