Bran Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottoms of your muffin pan. Chop the nuts and dates.

Beat the egg, then add to it cream and oil. Mix this together well, then mix in the bran and let it sit there and absorb liquid for about five minutes.

In another large bowl measure and slightly blend the wheat and rice flour and the oatmeal.

Now that it's been about five minutes, add the baking powder, salt and molasses to the soaking bran and mix thoroughly.

Dump the bran mixture into the flour mixture and blend a bit, then fold in the nuts, raisins and dates. Try not to mix too much because over-mixing can degrade the texture of the muffins.

Fill muffin tins about to the top and bake at 350 degrees F. for about 25 minutes. You can use milk instead of cream, but the muffins will not be as rich and moist.

NOTES:

* Very rich and moist muffins with bran, raisins, nuts and dates — I experimented a lot to find the ultimate bran muffin recipe. I started with a recipe from the "Betty Crocker Cookbook," but I've changed it enough that I'm willing to take all the credit for it. Yield: 12 large muffins.

* Using 1/3 hazelnuts and 2/3 walnuts adds a distinctive flavor.

* I like to let the batter sit in the refrigerator for a while (a few hours to overnight) before I bake it.

: Difficulty: moderate. : Time: 15 minutes preparation, 30 minutes baking and cooling. : Precision: measure the ingredients.

: Brad Chen : DEC Western Research Laboratory, Palo Alto, Calif., USA

Your Bran Muffins is ready. Buon appetito!