Muffins make Sunday a little sweeter

On any given Sunday morning, while listening to the pundits review and spin the news of the week, I’m doing my own whirl-in – with a whisk and a basic piece of bakeware in the kitchen. It’s a homey, engaging way to spend the morning and to help digest some of the events a little more sweetly.

Dolled up for the weekend, my muffins turn out glamorously rugged, laced as they are with banana, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, bran and two types of flour; two enrichments, buttermilk and sour cream, are strategically used for imparting a moist tenderness. These little quick breads are made from a friendly mix-and-stir batter, are mounded in the prepared cups and emerge plump and flavorful.

In any season, dried cranberries (dried tart cherries, snipped pitted dates or diced prunes are each a worthy exchange) do nicely, and firm summery berries would be lovely as well.

Muscovado and even plain granulated sugar can replace the turbinado variety, and plain yogurt is an easy swap for the sour cream. So, you see, this formula is somewhat flexible, and the mixture can even be baked as a single nine-inch-square layer, in which case, increase the baking time by 10 minutes or so until a wooden pick inserted an inch from the center withdraws clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Be sociable and make a double batch of muffins for sharing, and keep some on hand for serving with eggs and a bright fruit compote.

Sunday morning muffins

1 cup less 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup unprocessed wheat bran (also called miller’s bran; do not use bran cereal)

2 tablespoons flaxseed meal, preferably golden (see note)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt, preferably fine sea salt

1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup whole or low-fat buttermilk

3 tablespoons regular or low-fat sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 tablespoons plain vegetable oil

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)

2/3 cup dried sweetened cranberries

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Note: If you don’t have or don’t want to use flaxseed meal, simply increase the amount of wheat bran by 2 tablespoons (for a total of 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons).

Make ahead: The muffins can be made a day in advance and kept (covered) at room temperature or frozen individually to preserve freshness (for up to 2 weeks), then defrosted in their wrappings. Reheat, loosely wrapped in aluminum foil, in a 300-degree oven for 10 minutes or until warmed through.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the wells of a standard-size 12-well muffin pan with cooking oil spray.

Whisk together the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, bran, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and turbinado sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Lightly beat the eggs in a separate mixing bowl, then whisk in the buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla extract. Blend in the oil, mixing well. Thoroughly stir in the mashed bananas.

Quickly pour the banana mixture over the flour mixture, scatter over the cranberries and pumpkin seeds, and stir to form a thick batter. Let it stand, uncovered, for 2 minutes; this allows for the flours to be absorbed into the batter and steadies the rise of the muffins during baking. Divide the batter equally among the muffin pan wells, mounding the portions slightly.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins have risen and set and have browned. A wooden pick inserted in the center of a muffin will withdraw clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes, then turn them out and cool completely (right side up) on the rack.

Makes 12 servings.

Per muffin (using low-fat buttermilk and sour cream): 220 calories, 6 g protein, 32 g carbohydrates, 8 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 125 mg sodium, 4 g dietary fiber, 16 g sugar

Lisa Yockelson is the author of “Baking Style: Art, Craft, Recipes” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011) and documents her baking adventures on Twitter sweetpinkbaker.