Bready or Not: Mini Muffin Irish Soda Bread
Irish soda bread is traditionally a big round. I took a shrink ray to it.
Here’s the problem: standard recipes make way too much bread for the two of us to eat. I halved the recipe a few years ago, and that worked out better but it was still a lot. I got to thinking, what if I made it in a form that was a lot easier for my husband to take to work?
I searched online, and to my surprise, no one else had made Irish soda bread like that. Huh. So I resolved to try it, using a halved version of the same Irish soda bread recipe I posted back in 2012.
It turned out FANTASTIC. The bread cooked up in only ten minutes. It was already portioned out so I didn’t go bread crazy.
My husband happily took the leftovers in his work lunches–plus, the mini bread froze and thawed and tasted just as good weeks later. This recipe produces very soft, tender soda bread–not dense like some recipes I’ve tried.
This is the only way I’ll make Irish soda bread from here on. If I need to feed more people, I’ll just use the old, full version of the recipe and pull out another mini muffin pan.
Be sure to come back next week when I feature my favorite corned beef recipe–cooked in the crock pot!
Bready or Not: Mini Muffin Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour don't overfill
- 2 Tb cornstarch
- 1 Tb white sugar
- 3/4 ts baking soda
- 3/4 ts cream of tartar
- 3/4 ts kosher salt
- 2 Tb butter
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 Tb butter melted, for tops afterward (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 385-degrees. Prepare mini muffin pan by applying nonstick spray in each well, though not all will be filled.
- Whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Work the butter into mixture with a pastry blender or your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs; just as with making pie crust, you want those bits of butter in there.
- Add the buttermilk and stir until just combined. Knead in the bowl until the dough just starts to come together and is still craggy and bumpy, adding more buttermilk if necessary. Don't over-knead or the bread will be tough and dense.
- Use a tablespoon scoop or spoon to evenly dole out dough into the pan. Expect about eighteen mini muffins.
- Bake for ten minutes. Use the toothpick test to check middle ones for doneness. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and brush it on the tops of the little rounds.
Leftovers freeze well, and are the perfect size to fit in lunches.
OM NOM NOM!
Happy Bookday to Carrie Patel’s THE BURIED LIFE!
I was really, really lucky to get an advanced copy of Carrie Patel’s debut novel The Buried Life. I liked it so much that I blurbed it:
“The Buried Life artfully sets a who-dunit murder mystery in a dystopian underground city filled with dark politics and foul secrets. It’s a gripping read from start to finish, with two clever female leads and a delightfully colorful cast. More, please!”
– Beth Cato, author of The Clockwork Dagger
Want to know even more about it? Okay!
The gaslight and shadows of the underground city of Recoletta hide secrets and lies. When Inspector Liesl Malone investigates the murder of a renowned historian, she finds herself stonewalled by the all-powerful Directorate of Preservation – Recoletta’s top-secret historical research facility.
When a second high-profile murder threatens the very fabric of city society, Malone and her rookie partner Rafe Sundar must tread carefully, lest they fall victim to not only the criminals they seek, but the government which purports to protect them. Knowledge is power, and power must be preserved at all costs…
The Buried Life is out today, so be sure to check it out! And go congratulate Carrie on her book’s release, too. There’s nothing like release day. It’s proof that dreams come true.
Read MoreSunday Quote’s kid turns 10 this month
Read More“Revision is like wrestling with a demon, for almost anyone can write; but only writers know how to rewrite. It is this ability alone that turns the amateur into a professional.” ~William Knott
Story Behind the Cover of THE CLOCKWORK CROWN
When my editor told me that she’d like to see Octavia and the Lady on the cover of The Clockwork Crown, I thought it was a wonderful idea. I do miss seeing Alonzo again–and I described such a wonderful outfit for him in the book, too–but the series is really Octavia’s story. That’s especially true in Crown. This is where Octavia grows up. She has to confront everything that terrifies her.
Beth Cato at her Metro Center Barnes & Noble signing in December 2014.
I exchanged a number of emails with artist Gene Mollica. There is a lot of give and take in this kind of thing. My biggest request was that Octavia wear the green coat again. I mean, I loved the coat on the Clockwork Dagger cover so much that I commissioned one of my own.
Secret of Mana artwork by Hiro Isono.
Then I needed to describe the Lady. I sent along some descriptions from the books but also some reference images. The whole concept of the Lady and her religion is inspired by the Super Nintendo game Secret of Mana. That was the first place I encountered the world tree mythology when I was a teenager. Nintendo Power published an issue with the Secret of Mana cover art as the centerfold, and I had that Hiro Isono artwork pinned on my bedroom wall for years.
The Lady is a tree whose branches scrape the clouds and whose roots moor the world. A canopy of normal-sized trees is around her roots, like grass is around a typical tree. Her bark is mottled with algae and growths and cascading waterfalls, and creatures of all kinds reside in her shadow. Hiro Isono’s illustrations provided the foundation for my imagination.
Mana series artwork by Hiro Isono.
Therefore, when I saw the cover for Clockwork Crown, I was blown away. Octavia looks great, but the Lady…! It brought tears to my eyes. I mean, look between these illustrations and Gene Mollica’s end result. He created a real-life version of the Lady, inspired by the Mana Tree that I stared at for so many years there on my bedroom wall.
Read MoreBready or Not: No Bake Chocolate Pie
This super-easy pie comes together in minutes and is all things fluffy, chocolately, and delicious.
I love to bake, but when company’s coming and I’m already cooking meals AND juggling writing deadlines, a fancy cake or pie ain’t gonna happen. No-bake is the way to go. That way I can even make it the day before and I know it will keep just fine–and even improve in flavor.
This pie is really easy to tweak. I added mini Oreos, but you can throw any kind of cookie or candy bar in there… or keep it smooth and add nothing at all.
One concern I had was that this would taste like cheesecake. My family isn’t into cheesecake. The cream cheese here adds a lot of texture and richness, but the clear flavor is that of chocolate. Which meant… shhh… people didn’t know the cream cheese was in there.
It’ll be our secret.
Modified from German Sweet Chocolate Pie at Let’s Dish.
Bready or Not: No Bake Chocolate Pie
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Baker’s German Sweet or Semi Sweet Chocolate
- 1/3 cup milk or cream or half & half
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 1 8 ounce Cool Whip topping, thawed Reduced Fat works fine
- 1 graham cracker or chocolate pie crust
- 4 ounces Mini Oreos, chopped or other cookies or candy
Instructions
- Heat chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the milk in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and cream cheese. Add the rest of the milk, and the cooled chocolate mixture. Beat until smooth.
- Fold in whipped topping and until the colors are blended. Add in the cookie chunks. Spoon into the premade cookie crust.
- Freeze the pie until firm, about 4 hours, or in the fridge overnight. Thaw at room temperature for a short while before serving, if need be. If desired, garnish with more Cool Whip, or chocolate or caramel drizzle. Store in the fridge.
OM NOM NOM!
