Refrigerator Microwave Bran Muffins
 

I was reading an old microwave cookbook and I saw a recipe for microwave bran muffins. I made some and they were very good!

The 'Refrigerator' in the title refers to the way the batter can be kept in the refrigerator for a few weeks so you can make a muffin or two, fresh, for breakfast from that batter.

This recipe comes from cooks.com but it's similar to the cookbook recipe:

REFRIGERATOR - MICROWAVE BRAN MUFFINS
1 c. boiling water
3 c. Bran cereal (mix brands for different tastes)
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. soda
2 c. buttermilk or sour milk
Place bran cereal in large mixing bowl and stir in boiling water until moistened. Add butter and let stand until softened. Stir in sugar, eggs and beat well. Blend in flour, soda and milk. Stores in refrigerator 6 weeks.
To cook, spoon batter into paper-lined custard cup.

1-2 muffins - 1 minute medium, 30 seconds high.

4 muffins - 2 minutes medium, 1-1 1/2 minutes high.

6 muffins - 4 1/2 minutes medium, 1 1/2-2 minutes high.

I didn't use muffin cups - I had some small glass dishes and I lined them with wax paper before putting the batter in the dishes.

I tested the time - because my muffins were large - and stuck a knife into the muffins at various times until the knife tip came out clean, not sticky with batter.

My muffins were really big. I wanted to have muffins to compare to the humongous muffins my husband buys in the supermarket. These are so much cheaper! They don't have the crustiness of the store-bought muffins, but they do have good flavor and a somewhat denser texture (I used All-Bran and Walmart's Greater Value Bran Flakes.) I also put some raisins in boiling water and let them sit until they plumped up. I included them in the batter.

They come out really hot, which is nice if you spread a little butter on one.

The buttermilk or sour milk is important to the recipe, IMO. Baking soda needs something acidic to work well. I have seen recipes that use plain milk or yogurt but I trust the buttermilk. I keep powdered buttermilk on the pantry shelf but I like fresh.

I used Splenda but for people who don't like artificial sweeteners, you can use as little sugar as you can get away with for taste. I also used EggBeaters but that's just me - I like to use them in baking.