Bran Muffins

UPDATED
So the whole duck eggs did not work out--the chitlin started rashing out after a few days of trying them.  However, we are on a new experiment--this time with official backing!  We are participating in a clinical trial where, after some months of allergy sublingual drops, he's to try the foods he was taking drops for.  Chicken egg white is one of his foods, so I've been using egg white to make baked goods.  So far, so good--he hasn't rashed out from baked egg white yet.  Cross your fingers for us.
This is the third time I've made this recipe, and I think it's great now, so I'm just going to edit the one I had up here to the new, improved version that includes chicken egg white only.  It's a good recipe, and I wouldn't be ashamed to serve these to anybody!

(Old text:  This is an experimental recipe for us, to see if my chicken-egg allergic boy can tolerate duck eggs.  So far, so good, I think...it usually takes a couple of weeks to find out.  In the mean time, we are sure enjoying having eggs again, however briefly it may be.  I still want to try these with real (rice, for us) bran, in addition to the quinoa flakes, even though the quinoa flakes made it SO delicious.   And I bet the chopped apricots and/or apples would be great, too.  I look forward to playing with this recipe more in the future.  I also think chopped sunflower or pumpkin seeds would not go amiss in there.

I was going to put the original recipe, and then my alterations, but I just can't.  It irritates me too much.  The stupid red, plaid cookbook from Better Homes and Gardens REALLY likes to drop surprise ingredients like salt and water into the instructions, without having listed them in the ingredients section, which irks the crap out of me.  Here's my version (it's better, anyway):)

1 1/4 c quinoa flakes
1 c Bob's Red Mill gluten free ap flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c applesauce
1/2 c *milk
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c egg white (or 1 whole egg, if that suits)
1.5 T oil
1/2 c raisins, snipped dried apricots or snipped dried apples

Spray bottoms of muffin cups with nonstick spray coating.  Set aside.  In a mixing bowl, combine bran, flour, baking powder and baking soda, and salt.  Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; set aside.
In another bowl, combine the applesauce, milk, maple syrup, brown sugar, egg and oil.  Add applesauce mixture all at once to the dry mixture.  Stir to combine.  Fold in raisins.
Spoon batter into prepared cups.  Bake in 400* oven about 20 minutes or until golden.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, remove from cups.  Serve warm.

I have been having trouble with muffins (especially egg-free ones) being too dry.  I've been experimenting a bit, and having remembered that brown sugar is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air), AND thinking this recipe wouldn't suffer from being a smidge sweeter, I thought I'd add a little to the recipe.  Also, we found the honey flavor to be good, just overwhelming, and ds not really liking honey, we subbed in maple syrup for the honey.  Since I was adding 1/4 c brown sugar, I reduced the maple syrup a tiny bit to 1/4 c from 1/3 c, so the extra brown sugar wasn't too much sweetness.  It turned out well.  I also added a little extra oil.  This was originally a wheat bran muffin recipe, and was some lame-o diet thing, all free of egg yolk and light on oil.  Blech!  Lol!  So, I don't really care about dieting, and just want a lovely, palatable muffin, so I added a little more oil back in.
Interestingly, this was meant to have bran in it, which I'm sure gave it a nice toothsomeness, but I really, really like the crumb with the quinoa flakes.  The end result is a moist, somewhat dense but tender crumb that just is exactly what you want for a hearty, satisfying snack or breakfast.