This is a weird recipe. But all baking seems a little weird to me. How do all of these ingredients come together to make a muffin? It is a mystery. It really seems like an odd assortment of things, and there's one step here that looks just like a large bowl of cereal and milk. Cereal and milk does not equal muffins in my brain.
Perhaps you have found yourself wondering what to do with that whole quart of buttermilk. Who could possibly make use of the whole thing? My grandmother Mimi knew the answer: THESE MUFFINS!
Rabbit's aunt, Bunny Rue made these for us right after Rabbit was born, and they were a postpartum miracle. They are full of fiber, so when you are afraid to poo, fear no longer. They are good for freezing, which is excellent news since this recipe make 48 muffins. When you are hungry at 2:00 am and then again at 5:00 am, and you have a little baby who must have all of your attention all the time, you can just pop one or two in the microwave and add a little pat of butter. And if you have not just squeezed out a child from your lady parts, that's ok too. They make a good breakfast. Or snack. Rabbit's daddy likes them, and he has never birthed a child.
Mimi's Muffins 2 cups wheat bran 2 cups shredded wheat, crushed 1/2 cup boiling water 1 cup butter 1 1/2 cups sugar 4 eggs 5 cups flour 4 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons salt 1 cup raisins 2 cups dates, chopped 1 cup walnuts 1 quart buttermilk
Combine the 2 cups of wheat bran and the 2 cups of crushed shredded wheat in a small bowl. Pour the half cup of boiling water over the wheat stuff, stir it up and set it aside.
Put the butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds until it's nice and soft. Cream it together with the 1 1/2 cups of sugar and the 4 eggs. Set it aside.
In a very large bowl, sift together 5 cups of flour, 4 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons of salt.
Dump the bran mixture and the butter mixture into the large bowl with the flour mixture. Add the raisins, dates and nuts. And then add the entire quart of buttermilk. You will now have what looks like an enormous bowl of cereal. Stir it up.
Spoon the weird and gloppy mixture into muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
