Coffee Bran Muffins

My husband, daughter & I were at the library last Saturday, and of course I found myself in the cookbook section. Right as they were ready to leave, my hand fell (divinely, of course) on a cookbook called "Coffee Drinks & Desserts." Without looking at anything besides the cover, I decided it was one I needed to go home with. Yesterday I made the first recipe in the book for breakfast...



Coffee Bran Muffins
1 1/3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c 100% bran cereal
1 c buttermilk
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/4 c butter, softened
1/2 c room temperature brewed strong coffee
1/4 c dark corn syrup
1 large egg

Heat oven to 375°F. Line muffin pan with 12 paper cups.

Mix the flour and baking soda in a small bowl. Stir the cereal and buttermilk in another bowl; let stand for 5 minutes.

Beat the sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer set on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the coffee, corn syrup and egg and beat until smooth. Stir in the flour and cereal mixtures just until moistened. (The batter will be lumpy.) Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup two-thirds full.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean. Remove the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack. Serve warm.

Makes 1 dozen muffins (mine made 14).
Ok, so I love bran muffins anyway, so these were fantastic from the start. The recipe actually called for raisins, too, but I'm so not a fan of raisins, especially in muffins, so I left them out. Right out of the oven I honestly didn't taste any difference between these and the ones my mom made so many times when we were growing up. But then later in the day I had another one after it had cooled to room temperature. What a difference! The coffee taste really came out but was not overpowering. YUMMY. Oh, and my daughter gives it a "so good I'll stuff it all in my mouth at once" rating. I think it's a keeper.