Nana's Ever Ready Bran Muffins

One of our recipe readers, Suzy Cowdrey, emailed me and asked me for the Pecan Sandies recipe, as she had misplaced hers. In doing so, I asked her if she had any recipes she would like to share, and she sent three. This is one of them, and when she mentioned that Nana (Gertie Dorsey) made these for her harvest crew, I thought it might give another harvest cook an idea for breakfast.

I did not make these, but I know it's an old recipe, as I remember making them a very long time ago. It has also been called refrigerator bran muffins. The batter can be refrigerated up to a month and brought out to bake however many muffins you would like: hot and fresh out of the oven or baked all at once to be frozen for later.

If you are one who does not have much time for breakfast or would rather not eat a lot, then these are a good healthy choice.

I am going to type the recipe as it was sent, but I questioned Nabisco 100% bran in the first part of the recipe and the Kellogg's All Bran, wondering what the difference was. I googled it and this is what I found: "Nabisco 100% Bran was bought by Kraft Foods so the box was re-labeled Post 100% Bran, then the product was discontinued June of 2006, which was confirmed by calling Kraft." Suitable Substitute is Kellogg's All Bran Buds.

Some of the similar recipes call for bran flakes. There are many variations of the recipe with most using double the ingredients. The basics stay the same, though.

I received feedback from another reader on the Snickerdoodle Bars: She said the edges got a little brown so she trimmed them to eat herself and then shared the rest. She said they were great! I'm making them in a few weeks.

INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

Pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 cup Nabisco 100% bran (see note above) or Grape Nuts and let set in separate bowl to cool.

Cream: ½ cup plain yogurt (Suzy said she substituted yogurt for oil)

1 ½ cup sugar

4 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

Add Bran mixture

Add: 2 ½ cups flour (I use half whole wheat and half white)

2 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

Stir in: 2 cups Kellogg's All Bran cereal.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Check at 15 minutes

Store leftover batter in fridge for later use.

MY NOTES:

When I make this, I will add raisins and walnuts.

ENJOY and stay cool!