If you love to bake and want to make your recipes heart healthy, consider an extra ingredient: oat bran. Eaten regularly, oat bran can lower your cholesterol while giving you an extra fiber boost. Here are three recipes from my mother's collection. The brownies will surprise you with their dense, chocolate taste and moist texture.
Bran Brownies
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1 tablespoon water
2 very ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup oat bran cereal
Pinch of salt
1 cup chopped nuts
Combine the cocoa, coffee, water and bananas and mix in a blender or large bowl with a hand mixer. Add the sugar, cinnamon, egg whites and vanilla and mix well. Sift together the oat bran cereal with a pinch of salt and add it to the mixture. Fold in the nuts. Pour into a 9-inch baking pan (or 2 quart Pyrex pan) sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cook, cut into squares and serve.
Basic Bran Muffins
2-¼ cups oat bran cereal
¼ cup chopped nuts
½ cup raisins
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ¼ cups skim milk
2 egg whites or egg substitute for two eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl combine the oat bran, nuts, raisins and baking powder. Stir in the brown sugar. Mix the milk, egg and oil together and blend in with the oat brand mixture. Line a muffin pan with baking cups and fill with batter. Bake 15-17 minutes. Test with a toothpick. The muffins should be moist, but not wet. Store the muffins in a plastic bag to retain moisture. Keep the muffins in the refrigerator if they will not be eaten within three days.
Orange-Raisin Bran Muffins
½ cup oat bran
2 ½ cups flour (1 cup whole wheat flour)
1 cup raisin bran cereal
1 cup sugar
2/12/ teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
11/2 cups buttermilk
½ cup oil
½ cup raisins
½ cup thawed orange juice concentrate
Stir all of the ingredients and refrigerate overnight. Heat over to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tin cups. Fill the cups two-thirds full. Let the batter stand 20-30 minutes. Bake 12-14 minutes. (The batter will keep several days well covered in the refrigerator.)
