A Quick Breakfast You Can Keep In The Fridge for 6 Weeks?

This old school recipe is perfect for busy mornings.

At this moment, I am living with three lovely adults and two dogs in our little downsized house. My husband’s brother, his wife and their sweet greyhound, Dottie, are staying with us temporarily while they wait for their moving van to arrive at their new home.

As you can imagine, the mornings are a little nuts with four adults and two energy-filled dogs clamoring for coffee and breakfast. (The dogs only get one cup of coffee.)

But something makes all this craziness worthwhile— the glorious fresh-baked bran muffins my sister-in-law makes for us every morning.

Let me back up a minute. Normally — I hate bran muffins. They were one of those healthy foods my mom tried to spring on my sister and me when we were kids. I detested them. So when the recent offer of bran muffins was made — my inner voice said, “Ummm — no thanks!”

Thankfully, my outer-voice said yes and I did try one.

What the hell — have I ever been missing out.

These bran muffins are dense yet moist, not too sweet and jam-packed with goodness. The batter lasts in the fridge for six weeks (I kid you not) and even your die-hard bran hater will change their mind when they try one.

My sister-in-law adds frozen blueberries to them each morning which takes them to a whole new level. And I think raspberries would also be a nice option, too.

But for the time being — I love waking up to the fragrance of fresh muffins (made lovingly by someone else) that I can nibble on while sipping coffee and reading my book. Maybe communal living isn’t so bad, after all!

BRAN MUFFINS

Recipe adapted from the Mennonite Treasury Cookbook

Servings: 14-18

Prep time: approx. 30 minutes.

Bake time: approx. 23–25 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups wheat bran

1 1/2 cups oat bran

1 cup boiling water

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 tbsp baking soda

1/2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup fancy or cooking molasses

2 cups buttermilk

Instructions:

1. Mix the following together in the first bowl: Wheat bran and oat bran. Pour 1 cup boiling water over this and stir. Set aside.

2. In a second bowl mix the rest of the dry ingredients together: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. With a mixer — cream butter and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

4. Whisk in molasses and buttermilk.

5. To the above, add flour mixture and stir gently until ALMOST combined. Stir in the bran mixture and mix gently, just until incorporated.

6. Cover and store in the fridge up to 6 weeks.

When you’re ready to BAKE:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and grease muffin pan.

Scoop muffin batter generously into muffin cups and add a few frozen blueberries or raspberries to each muffin (if desired). Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, bake another 18–20 minutes until tops spring lightly when touched.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.