Happy National Muffin Day! Don’t you just love a muffin hot out of the oven smothered with butter? In Andrew, book 1 in the Petersheim Brothers series, Mary Coblenz shows up on Bitsy Kiem’s doorstep, desperate and in trouble. She’s been rejected by her family and has nowhere else to go but to Bitsy’s house, where she hopes she’ll find a safe place and a little warmth and love. Lucky for Mary, Bitsy has just pulled a batch of bran muffins out of the oven, and Mary settles in to muffin heaven.
Below is an excerpt from Andrew and a recipe for Six Week Bran Muffins from my mother-in-law. The recipe makes a big batch of batter that you can store in the fridge for up to six weeks and pull it out and bake whenever you want a tasty treat! Happy National Muffin Day!
Bitsy set the plate of muffins on the table with a knife, a spoon, and a jar of raspberry jam. Mary sighed out loud. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had homemade raspberry jam. Bitsy went to the fridge and poured the most delicious-looking glass of milk Mary had ever seen. “They’re bran muffins, but don’t worry. They’re delicious. You can even make bran taste good if you use enough sugar, and Yost needs them to stay regular.”
Mary didn’t know who Yost was, but bran muffins sounded like about the best thing in the world right now. Her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten anything since about five this morning except a bottle of water, and that definitely didn’t count. She cut a muffin in half, spread a generous dollop of jam on the top, and took a bite. It was the best thing she’d ever tasted and probably the best thing she’d ever taste again.
From Andrew, Book 1 in the Petersheim Brothers series
Six Week Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups boiling water
- 5 tsp. baking soda
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 quart buttermilk
- 5 cups flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 4 cups All Bran
- 2 cups Bran Flakes
- 2 cups combined dates, raisins, and nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Add baking soda to water. Let cool and set aside.
- Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs to the shortening/sugar mixture one at a time, stirring well after each. Stir in buttermilk and add flour and salt. Add water and baking soda.
- Mix remaining ingredients separately in a large bowl then stir into buttermilk mixture. Mix well.
- Store in a tightly covered bowl in the fridge. Bake when needed. Keeps for 6 weeks in fridge.
- To bake: Without stirring, spoon into well-greased muffin tins (don’t use papers–they stick). Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.
