Trader Joe’s Triple Berry Bran Muffins, reviewed

I much prefer my homemade bran muffins to just about any bran muffin I’ve either had from a store or made from a mix, but that doesn’t stop me from keeping an eye out for healthy options when they pop up. Trader Joe’s Triple Berry Bran Muffins are a new product I spotted while out shopping last week. I’ve had good luck with some of the TJs mixes in the past, so I thought I’d give these a try. The muffins have whole wheat flour, wheat bran,oat bran and a combination of dried cranberries, blueberries and raspberries.

The directions couldn’t be easier: add two eggs, a cup of water and bake. My baking time was much less than the time recommended on the box. I think I baked these for about 18 minutes, where the box suggests 23-28. The muffins turned out looking just like the photo on the box. They were moist, but had an open crumb and a pleasant bran-y texture. The berries were a nice touch and an interesting mix, although I think that these muffins would be even better if you incorporated some fresh or frozen berries into the mix, as well. They would make them more moist, would boost the berry flavor (which was mild) and would cover up the hint of baking soda flavor that I detected in these nicely. I might also experiment a bit and use milk instead of the water called for in the recipe to give the muffins a slightly richer feel.