Honey Bran Muffin {Mimi’s Copycat}
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Ever had a Mimi’s Honey Bran Muffin? I haven’t been to Mimi’s in awhile – but I remember those bran muffins and this recipe is a beautiful copycat version! A honey bran muffin recipe that is soft, a little chewy, packed with amazing flavor and gooeyness and oh you might say that they are on the healthy-ish side! WIN!
If you are into copycat recipes, you might try my Flour’s Famous Banana Bread, Panera’s Broccoli Cheese Soup or Chipotle Chicken! Both spot on!
You know me, I had to tweak the recipe slightly; the original recipe called for 4 tsp dry milk powder, I looked at the grocery store (truly), but honestly I couldn’t be bothered, especially for just 4 teaspoons.
So, I did a little math conversion and came up with replacing said milk powder with cream or 1/2 & 1/2 and a little less water and wow did they turn out yummy!
Simple Ingredients for Honey Bran Muffins
- Brown Sugar, Honey & Molasses
- Oil | I like a heart healthy oil like Grapeseed or Avocado oil
- Egg | Room temperature is best, I always use large
- Heavy cream or half & half
- Orange zest | Adds great interest and flavor
- All-purpose flour | I use organic unbleached all-purpose flour
- Wheat Bran or Oat Bran either can be used
- Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt
I’m gonna get right to the recipe and steps, because it’s been one of those weeks and I am literally typing this hours before my deadline! Sigh! You all have weeks like that, right?
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° and spray muffin tin (12 cup) with spray oil.
Making the Honey Glaze
In a small bowl, whisk your glaze ingredients together and set aside. If using all natural cane sugar, whisk for a bit to break down the larger granules.
- In a separate bowl add dry ingredients; flour, wheat bran, sea salt, baking powder, and baking soda and whisk to combine, set aside.
NOTE: Can’t find wheat bran, use oat bran instead!
- In a bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, mix brown sugar, honey, molasses, and oil and mix on medium speed until smooth.
- Add egg, water, cream (or half & half) and (optional) orange zest and mix until incorporated, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
- Slowly add your dry ingredients with mixer on low speed until mixed.
- Stir glaze and using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop about 2/3 of a tablespoon of glaze into bottom of each muffin cup, spreading it around and up the sides, this will ensure that distribution of the glaze is even and gets all over that muffin!
- Using a medium or large cookie scoop, scoop batter into muffin cups, about 2/3 full, careful to not overfill them, they do overflow a bit, but you don’t want them overflowing onto the bottom of your oven.
- Bake for 20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
- As soon as they are done, line a cooling rack with a piece of parchment paper and carefully flip the muffin tin over, allowing those beautiful bran muffins to escape.
- They don’t look like much, but once you invert them — watch out baby!!
Eat immediately (especially yummy with a pat of butter) or cool and reheat (also with a pat of butter and maybe a drizzle of honey!).
Or cool completely and store in an airtight container on the counter up to 5 days, may be frozen up to 6 months.
Please enjoy bran responsibly! —————– I crack myself up!!
What’s your favorite go-to muffin recipe? I don’t bake many muffins, I tend to do more scones and quick breads, why?
Probably because muffins feel more complicated, but they really aren’t. And I love a good, tender, moist muffin as much as the next girl!! I’d love to hear your comments if you try this, just scroll down below the recipe!
Recipe lightly adapted from Lou Lou Girls.
Like this recipe?
Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and comment below the recipe!
Equipment
Ingredients
Glaze
- 3 tablespoons all-natural cane sugar regular sugar is fine
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons water
- pinch of salt
Muffins
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons molasses unsulphured
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil I like avocado or grapeseed oils
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or half & half
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest optional for a little extra to sprinkle on top
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup wheat bran
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350° and spray muffin tin (12 cup) with spray oil.
Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk your glaze ingredients together and set aside. If using all natural cane sugar, whisk for a bit to break down the larger granules.
MUFFINS
- In a separate bowl add dry ingredients; flour, wheat bran, sea salt, baking powder, and baking soda and whisk to combine, set aside. In a bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, mix brown sugar, honey, molasses, and oil and mix on medium speed until smooth.
- Add egg, water, cream (or half & half) and orange zest and mix until incorporated, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Slowly add your dry ingredients with mixer on low speed until mixed.
- Stir glaze and using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop about 2/3 of a tablespoon of glaze into bottom of each muffin cup, spreading it around and up the sides, this will ensure that distribution of the glaze is even and gets all over that muffin!
- Using a medium or large cookie scoop, scoop muffin batter into muffin cups, about 2/3 full, careful not to overfill them, they do overflow a bit, but you don’t want them overflowing onto the bottom of your oven. Bake for 20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
- As soon as they are done, line a cooling rack with a piece of parchment paper and carefully flip the muffin tin over, allowing those beautiful bran muffins to escape. Eat immediately (especially yummy with a pat of butter) or cool and reheat (also with a pat of butter and maybe drizzle of honey!)
- Please enjoy bran responsibly! ————- I crack myself up!!
Video
Nutrition
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About Kathleen Pope
Recipe Innovator | Food Photographer | Food Writer
Hi, I’m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen. Read more about Kathleen here.
Best bran muffin recipe ever! I added some left over flax seeds (whole, cooked) and made bite sized muffins instead. Definitely a keeper! Thank you so much for sharing!
Yum! Doubly good for you with flax in them too! Thank you for your kind words!
Excellent, looks just like the photo, tastes just like the restaurant made it. I paid $16 for 4 from the restaurant last week. Bravo!
Thank you Lara, love that so much and yes love saving money and enjoying the yummies!
Absolutely loved these muffins! We used orange blossom honey and the flavour of the glaze was divine! The muffins themselves were really tender and moist too! Great recipe!
So glad you loved them!
These looked good I had to try it and they were delicious and was a big hit!
Yay!! Thanks!
Yum, these remind me so much of the sticky date pudding but with more of a honey profile. Super moist, delicious, sweet – all around winning muffins!
I’ve never had sticky date pudding, but so glad you loved them and now I’m intrigued!
I’ve made these muffins several times and they always turn out perfectly! Making them again this weekend!
YAY! So glad they are a go-to recipe for you!
Love how easy this recipe is. Can’t wait to try it this weekend.thank you for the recipe!
Super easy!!
The muffins were delicious! Super easy to make and tasty! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad to hear! Thanks for your kind words!
Such nice and moist muffins! Absolutely delicious and easy to make! We all loved the honey glaze on them!
That honey glaze is the best!!
I am in LOVE with these muffins. Just the right amount of sweetness, and inverting them after baking plus a little bit of butter and honey on top make them feel really elegant and special.
Oh with that melty pat of butter on top!!
Rich and chewy! These muffins are so good!
Thank you!
Hi Kathleen I’m from Australia & don’t know about mimics muffins but am making them. Can you use Muffin wrappers to bake them in? Thanks
I have never tried making in baking wrappers, since the recipe has a glaze that starts on the bottom and then you invert them to serve and eat. If you do try it, smear a little of the glaze on the bottom of the wrapper and then reserve a little to place on the top either before baking or after baking. Let me know how it turns out?
I was wondering, the recipe calls for 2 Tbs half/ half or heavy cream. I find myself buying the half/ half and only using it for the recipe. Is there a way I could use my 2% milk? Would it make a difference?
I haven’t tried it Rita, but typically switching up milk shouldn’t impact the recipe that much, it won’t be quite as rich, but I’d say go for it and let me know how it turns out.
I baked the muffins with artificial sugars, and baked them in my jumbo 6ct muffin tins. I wanted the Mimi’s experience. I made 2 batches and baked 1 doz. Really awesome recipe!
Love that Rita!! So glad it worked well and that you made it yours by making with sugar replacements!
I made these muffins 3 times, and gave away to friends, they raved how delicious the muffins were. I used artificial sugars and baked then in my jumbo 6ct muffin tins. I wanted the Mimi’s experience. Great recipe!!
Love hearing this! Thanks so much!
These look fabulous! This is a novice baker question – Would I be able to make these larger, in a 6 cup muffin pan?
Just make these…know nothing of Mimi or her muffins…but sure do love me some honey bran muffins!! None available on my little remote island so online ordered the wheat bran and whipped these up. O. M. G. – incredible!! Thank you sooo much for the opportunity to create these luscious morsels myself 😊😊. Will try with the raisin idea too next time, but this is a keeper, forever. Thank you!
Well your kind of sweet comments just make me smile! Thank you so much Stephanie, they are a favorite of ours too and I am so glad you loved them!! Appreciate your kind comment.
What an Amazing “mimi” recipe! Living in Washington we do miss Mimi’s AND their Honey Bran Muffins. I have made this twice before BUT decided to follow it EXACTLY as written. 😉 It turned out so good…i did however add 1/2 cup plumped raisins,upon my husbands request, they were as we remember, Thank you.
I would like to attach a picture but can’t seem to find that link ?
Thank you so much Susan, you are such a doll and I love that it turned out so good and that you added raisins to make your hubby happy! That’s how we roll isn’t it! And, yes unfortunately there isn’t a way to attach a picture to the post itself, only on social media channels, but thanks for trying!
I made these tonight. I accidentally put in a full cup of water tho! Yikes! So I tasted the watery batter and it was so sweet. I added 1/4 cup more of wheat bran. Then I also added 1/4 cup more flour. I tasted the batter again, and it was still very sweet. I let it sit for 20 minutes and the batter thickened up magically! I made the muffins and they turned out great. But I only filled 2/3 full and they did come out small. I did get 12 muffins, but again, they were small. For the glaze, I omitted the white sugar and it all still came out just fine. BTW, when I added the water, I added 1/4 apple cider and 3/4 water (again, I know, too much water!). The flavor of the muffins was very good.
Side note: It was very hard to read this recipe because your page has so many ads. I know you need to make $ for all the time and effort you put in, plus I know it costs $ to host a site. I just wish you didn’t have so many. My two cents! Otherwise, this was a good experience. Thank you!
Love all of your adjustments to make it yours! That’s what this site is all about, making adjustments when you see fit! Sorry about your experience with the ads, never my intention to frustrate or annoy anyone, there is a balance for sure and I will check with my ad agency about my settings! Hope you continue to enjoy those muffins!
This recipe has some issues…it doesn’t make 12 muffins…I got 6. they were a bit dry
For the second time round I doubled the glaze and filled the muffin pan half and half-half glaze/half muffin mix-turned out much better; gooey sticky muffins-8 muffins
That is so strange Michel? How large is your muffin tin? So sorry you experienced that though, I take it personally when someone makes one of my recipes and it doesn’t work out as planned, happy to try and troubleshoot with you!
Thanks for this amazing recipe they turned out perfect I added raisins to mine
Thank you so much Mary, love that you made it your own by adding raisins!! Yum! Happy baking, Kathleen
I made this recipe today and they tasted great, but they didn’t look great. After flipping them onto the parchment paper they sunk in the middle and ended up looking like blobs. I didn’t have wheat bran so I substituted wheat germ. My baking powder and soda were brand new. I’m not sure what I did wrong.
They are very tasty and won’t go to waste, but I would like them to look as good as they taste.
Hi Shelley, thanks for reaching out. I read up a little on wheat germ and wheat bran, found that you can typically substitute them 1:1, so my only thought if they sunk is that you didn’t bake them quite long enough. Or it could be your oven temp, have you checked your oven temp recently, the temp could have made a difference too, many ovens run hot or cold by 25-50 degrees (mine tends to run cool). Bake them until a toothpick comes out clean, hopefully that will help you trouble shoot!
Theses tasted good but wondering why the recipe only made 1/2 a muffin tin (6 muffins). My muffins were not that big either and didn’t spill over the top. I live in Canada so I’m wondering if it’s because we have different flour.
Good Morning Marie,
That’s so strange, my recipe makes twelve, filling a standard sized muffin tin?? I would think even though your flour may be different that you should still get the same quantity. As far as your muffins not spilling over the top, I am wondering if your baking soda and or baking powder might have lost their oomph? I am also assuming you put in a full cup of wheat bran and a cup of flour? Just double checking as this has me stumped for sure, of all the times I’ve made them as well as others, this is the first I’ve heard of it not filling a full tin?
Would love to help you figure this out, if you are willing!
Thanks for reaching out!
Kathleen
@Marie, same here! I live in Mexico so I’m wondering if its because the recipe works best in US…haha, just joking. The second time I made them I doubled the glaze recipe and filled each muffin cup a little less than half with the glaze. This stretched the recipe to 12 muffins…barely. It’s always fun to experiment and tweek a recipe and eventually make it your own. Cheers from Mexico (Irish expat)
Thank you Michel for taking the time to write an encouraging word! I do not know why if using the same basic ingredients this wouldn’t fill a regular sized muffin pan? Are you only filling them ⅔ full? I will have to remake them again soon and triple check my numbers, but I have made them several times and it’s always yielding 12.
These are so delicious! I eliminated the 1/3 cup of brown sugar from the muffin mix because the orange blossom honey I had is really sweet and this still came out sticky, sweet and fully craveable! Also, I didn’t have a muffin pan so I used an 8×8 square pan with zero issues. Thank you so much for this new family favorite.
Love it Maeve! Sounds delicious and so great to know you can make it in an 8×8, makes portion control a little easier that way too! Happy Baking!
Be well,
Kathleen
These are perfect! Crusty exterior, creamy interior, with a bit of chew. No need to look further for a Mimi Bran Muffin. Nailed it!
Why thank you so much Diane, makes my day when I hear from readers who’ve tried recipes and love them! Happy baking, be well! Kathleen
@Kathleen, Everybody’s kitchens, flours, oven and techniques are a little different so we should all expect some variable results. It’s a great recipe with delicious results!…to all the bakers out there; if it doesn’t turn out quite right the first time, just tweak the recipe a bit…that’s what baking is all about…a kitchen experiment of Love, exploration…and determination. Thanks so much for posting your fun delicious recipes!!
Yes, Absolutely!! Thanks for the encouragement!
This tasted really good, and brought back memories of eating them in the restaurant. They were easy to make, too. I didn’t have molasses so I used rice malt syrup. I also used coconut oil. They were slightly drier than I remember, but that might be due to my using a convection oven. I did reduce it to 300 degrees but next time I’ll try reducing the cook time by a few minutes.
Hi Christina, thank you for commenting and putting in your substitutions as well. If they were dry I would definitely suggest the reduction in oven temp as you did along with reduction of cooking time! Glad you liked them! Happy baking, Kathleen
I love Mimi’s Cafe bran muffins and this recipe is spot on! They are perfect! I couldn’t find wheat bran so I used oat bran (in the oatmeal section). I’m already planning on making them again. My family all fought over who got to eat the last one!
Love that you used oat bran, if I had had some it’s probably what I would have used! Thank you so much for commenting, glad your family loved them!
Really awesome and detailed recipe and instructions. Thanks for this awesome recipe. Going to make it in the weekends.
Thanks Danny, hope you love it!
I absolutely loved the Mimi’s Honey Bran muffins but they closed in our city several years ago so I tried this recipe & they truly are “copy cat” to Mimi’s! I didn’t have molasses so used 1 Tablespoon of syrup instead (per a review I had read); finally bought some molasses & it does make the muffins taste better & “exactly” like Mimi’s taste. I used the larger muffin tin that makes 6 & also added chopped dried cranberries (approx 1/2 cup) & chopped pecans (approx 1/3 cup) which made them take about 5-7 min longer in the oven. Thank you SO much for this recipe!
The recipe says that one muffin has 33 grams of fiber, was it supposed to be 3 grams? Just wondering!
Hi Linda, We wish huh! I went into the nutrition card to double check, it’s actually 33 carbs and 2 grams of fiber, it confused me too! It’s a nutritional card and I just plug in the number of servings and based on the ingredients it comes up with the calculations.
This looks like a delicious muffin that we will really enjoy! Thanks for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and have a good week!
Miz Helen
Thank you so much Miz Helen! I sure hope your readers will enjoy, it’s a pretty darn tasty “healthy” muffin!!
I made these honey bran muffins tonight and they turned out wonderful! I did not have wheat bran so I substituted with oat bran. They were delicious but a little more cake like than the “Mimi’s” muffins. I will try with the wheat bran next time. Still yummy and easy to make!
YAY! So glad you liked them Dawn! Good to know about the oat bran, I’ve been wanting to try them with oats, cake like is not all bad!
These look heavenly!
Thank you so much Heidi!! They are!!!