Gather your ingredients.

Place muffin liners into a muffin pan. The recipe will make about 12 to 15 muffins, depending on their size.

Preheat oven to 400°F

Place the cereal in a large ziplock bag and crush into fine pieces/powder using a rolling pin or hammer. Transfer the cereal to a bowl.

Add the milk and vanilla extract to the bowl. If using raisins, add them as well. Stir well, then let sit for 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, spices, baking powder). Whisk well and set aside.

(Optional): toast whole pecans at 400°F for 5 minutes. Chop finely and add to the dry ingredients.

In a separate small bowl, whisk the egg and vegetable oil until well blended.

Pour the egg mixture into the softened cereal and mix well.

Add the cereal mixture to the dry ingredients and mix gently until just combined. Lumps are okay. The picture shows the batter during the mixing process. No flour streaks should remain when you’re done mixing.

Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin pan. Fill the cups about 2/3 full. I used a muffin scoop to transfer the batter. One scoop has a volume of about 3.5 Tablespoons, and this was enough to fill the cups with the desired amount of batter. This resulted in 15 muffins.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Check for doneness and bake longer only if necessary. Remove the muffins from the pan immediately and allow to cool on a metal rack. Store at room temperature for up to a day. After that, store in the fridge and heat or toast to warm them up. Or, you can freeze them and use them a few at a time as needed.