Two Things on a Sunday Afternoon

1.  Bran Muffins ~ Home Schooling starts back up for our son and me tomorrow.  And it's my very. last. year.  He is a Senior, the baby of the family, and this is my 23rd year of full time homeschooling...so I have very mixed feelings.  Sad.  But glad I get to do this for one more year.  It's been a grand, wonderful, fulfilling journey.

It's always nice to have muffins ready to go for the new school year, and these are my very favorite.  Moist and easy, plus they make a ton.  You can even keep the unbaked batter in the refrigerator up to 6 weeks, and have warm muffins in a snap.

This recipe comes from my friend Debbie, and has been around for years.  You can also make some substitutions with the recipe, which is always nice.  Here are the ingredients I use:

1 cup boiling water
1 cup Bran flakes (or Raisin Bran Flakes)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk (or make sour milk by adding 2 Tablespoons white vinegar to  2 scant cups regular milk)
2 1/2 cups flour (I use 1 cup whole wheat flour in this mixture)
3 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 more cups of Bran Flakes (or Raisin Bran Flakes)
chocolate chips and/or nuts to top dress muffins

I made the batter Saturday (use the directions in the original recipe) and refrigerated it.  This afternoon I baked it after top dressing each with some mini chocolate chips and pecans, making a dozen nice muffins and 8 mini loaves.  They rise up so nice and are sooooo moist and wonderful.

I froze the mini loaves for next week.  Husband and I love a little something sweet first thing in the morning with our coffee.

  .Warm right out of the oven

So good I ate two!  Shhhh....  :) 

2.  Making Lesson Plans ~ Sat down today and wrote up the work we will accomplish the first day.  Since it is still mid-August and hot, I lit a candle, drank some coffee with the fan blowing on me (haha!) and pretended it was Fall.  That's when school should start, in my book.  :)

Curriculum  for this year, along with several classes at the local high school.  How can this be the last time I will ever buy homeschool curriculum for my children?

Well, muffins and coffee will make my back-to-school morning pleasant and tasty.  Hope you give them a try soon, too!  

Blessings,
Donna

Amazing, Moist Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins

Long ago when I had given birth to one our babies, a sweet friend brought us dinner.  And part of the dinner was a tin full of Grandma Larson's Bran Muffins.  They were from a recipe in her husband's family and they were moist, delicious, and tender.
They have become my favorite muffin recipe!  And since I made some this week, I thought I'd share this treat with you.  I have made some adjustments to the recipe to fit the ingredients I have on hand and to add a bit of chocolate to them.  So here we go!

The adjustments I made to the recipe are listed below:

1 1/4 c. boiling water
3 c. raisin bran flakes
1/2 c. cooking oil
1 c. sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 c. buttermilk (from a carton or homemade sour milk or buttermilk made with dry mix)
2 1/2 c. flour
3 tsp. soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips stirred up with a teaspoon of flour so they won't sink to the bottom of the muffin.

Go ahead and follow the original directions while making the above substitutes if you wish.  I don't buy All Bran cereal, so that's why I just use bran flake cereal or raisin bran cereal.  I increased the boiling water since I add it to the whole 3 cups of raisin bran.  And please know that this recipe is very forgiving...if your batter is alittle thinner than you think it should be (mine was this past time) just add some more bran flakes to it.  Works just fine.

The recipe makes about 24 muffins.  I like to bake them right in the tin without liners but then when I give them to friends or family I sometimes place the finished muffin in a liner for a nicer presentation.  As the recipe says, you can bake a batch, then keep the rest of the batter in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.  Brilliant!!

They are equally good without chocolate chips, but in my opinion, the chocolate chips send them over the AMAZING top.  :)  I also top dress the unbaked muffin with chopped walnuts and a few more choc. chips.
I just had one, right from the oven, with a tall glass of iced coffee.  Summer bliss!

V E R Y moist.  Even 3-4 days after you bake them.

I gave some to our neighbor friends, and they all enjoyed them to the max!  These can be a nice gift for neighbors, families who need encouragement, new moms, friends at Christmas, etc.
And a BIG thank you to Debbie for sharing her recipe in our church cookbook many years ago and for introducing me to these wonderful treats from your family!

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Donna