my favorite muffin and spicy chai

This is my favorite muffin ever - and that's saying a lot! I must make ten or twelve muffins on a fairly regular basis, but this buttermilk bran muffin is the first on the list.

It's an old southern recipe I got from a friend eons ago and it has all the greatness you want in a bran muffin ( besides the fiber): a little sweetness, plump raisins, a hint of cinnamon, and a perfectly moist crumb. I make up a batch of 5 Texas size muffins and eat them through the week - or you can make regular size muffins ( it makes 10) and freeze some. They freeze very well.

And to celebrate two mornings in a row below 40 degrees, I mixed up a batch of spicy, warming chai. What a way to start the day!

Buttermilk Bran Muffins

Preheat oven to 340F

Grease a Texas size muffin tin .

1 1/2 cups wheat bran

1/2 cup boiling water

1/4 cup canola oil

1 1/4 cups King Arthur all purpose flour

1/2 t. salt

1 1/4 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

2 small eggs or one extra large egg

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup raisins

Divide the bran. In a bowl, mix 1/2 cup bran, the canola oil, the raisins, and the boiling water. Stir and set aside.

In a mixer bowl , place the rest of the bran, the flour, salt, soda, sugar, cinnamon. Add the buttermilk and eggs and mix, then add the wet bran mix. Mix briefly.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out two scoops of batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until muffin tops are firm when gently touched with a finger.

Cool and enjoy!