2 1/2 Cups Bran Cereal*

1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk

1 3/4 Cups Flour (sifted)

1 egg

1/3 cup Oil

1 Cup Raisins*

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (packed)

1 TB Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Soda

1/8 tsp Salt

1 Cup chopped Pecans (optional)
Mix together Bran Cereal and Buttermilk and set aside (Bran will soften).  Meanwhile combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt, raisins and nuts in a separate bowl and set aside.  When bran has softened add egg, oil and sugars and mix well.  Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three stages.  Mix until combined.  Do Not Over mix.  Fill muffin Tins about 2/3’s full.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Note: These can be made with Bran Cereal that already has raisins in it.  When using this option increase cereal to 3 Cups and leave out extra cup of Raisins.

Enjoy!

This is the perfect frosting for a Chocolate Mocha or French Vanilla Cake or Cupcake.  It makes enough icing for one 2 Layer Cake or 24 Cupcakes.  Coffee and Chocolate are a great-tasting combination.  If you like these flavors together you’ll love this recipe!  Enjoy!

1/3 Cup Unsalted Butter (softened)
2 1/2 Cups Confectioners Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 Tablespoons Expresso or Strong Coffee
1 Tablespoon Light Corn Syrup

Cream butter then add sugar mixing in batches until well incorporated.  Add Vanilla and Salt and gradually add coffee and syrup and beat until smooth.

Good Morning Everyone!

So MyWoodenSpoon.com has done it again. They are giving away another weekly prize. This time it is a set of Wilton Muffin Pans! It’s very easy to enter. Just follow the link below and read the post for further instructions.

Wilton Muffin Pan Giveaway

Here are some tips for cooking and baking up your Easter Holiday Dinner.

The En tree -

Barbecue Brisket - Marinate a trimmed Brisket in Italian or Balsamic Dressing and slow cook it on the Grill. All you need to do is wrap the Brisket in Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil and cover it with the Dressing and Seasonings and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight in the Refrigerator. Then place the entire foil wrapped Brisket on the Barbecue Pit for approximately 3 or 4 hours until cooked.

Desserts -

Desserts are usually the easy and fun part. This Easter I am going to bake up some Cupcakes from a store bought mix and fill the center with a creamy filling and top it off with icing and Easter themed Sprinkles that I bought at the store. For the filling I was thinking about some strawberries blended with some whipped white icing in a can. All you need to do then is pipe it in the cupcake using an icing bag then frosting the top of the cupcakes with a white or chocolate frosting. There are so many things you can do with cupcakes. Just experiment and have fun with it.

Here’s wishing Everyone a Happy Easter!