Date and Apple Honey Bran Muffins

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease muffin tins; set aside. Alternately, muffins may be made in tins lined with muffin or cupcake liners.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix cereal and milk together. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow cereal to absorb milk.

Add eggs, coconut oil, honey and vanilla extract; stir until well blended. Stir in chopped apple.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add chopped dates. If the dates are fresh, they will likely be quite sticky. With clean hands, toss dates with flour mixture, breaking up any date pieces that are sticking together.

Add wet ingredients and pecans to the dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Over-mixing will result in tough muffins with tunnels.

Fill prepared muffin tin(s) 3/4 full. A 3-tablespoon scoop, slightly overfilled with batter, works well. Bake for 15–18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of several muffins comes out clean. Watch the muffins carefully during the baking process. Do not overcook them because it will result in dry, tough muffins. Suggestion: Every oven bakes differently. Check muffins at the 14-minute mark. If the toothpick comes out very wet with batter, bake muffins for an additional 2 minutes and re-check. However, if the muffins test only a little bit wet, bake for an additional 1 minute and re-check.

Remove muffins from pan(s) and cool on cooling rack. When cool, either wrap individually in plastic wrap or place several muffins together in plastic bags. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Notes:
1. Chopped dates can be bought in packages in the baking aisle. However, I recommend using fresh dates when possible, particularly the Medjool variety. Medjools are fat and sweet. Be sure to remove the large seed before attempting to chop the dates.
2. To toast the pecans, place chopped pecans in a small baking pan or on a small baking sheet. Put them in preheated 400ºF oven for about 5 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden. Allow to cool while preparing muffin batter.
3. Rewarm finished muffin in microwave for about 10 seconds. These muffins are outstanding when rewarmed.

Recipe adapted from “Honey Bran Muffins” by Bessie B. Russell as printed in the Deseret News, December 3, 1996.