Irish Soda Bread Muffins

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Though I will not be partaking in the usual St. Patty's Day celebrations, it is nice to have an excuse to cook food that represents the 1/4 Irish-side of me!  (Proof: my grandmother's maiden name was Daughtry.)  I always like to make a few traditional Irish dishes! This year I plan to repeat what I made last year which are these delicious Soda Bread Muffins. They're a nice twist on the classic loaf and my family just loves them!

I also like to make the traditional Dublin Coddle from a recipe I found from Simply Scratch.  It's simple, warm, and delicious!  It's a hearty, one-pot meal with sausages and potatoes that when washed down with a Guinness...well, you can only imagine how good it is!

Simply Scratch

So if you need a delicious Irish dish for tonight, you have found it!  Both dishes are super simple and mouth watering.  They will leave you pining for the green Irish fields of clover!

Irish Soda Bread Muffins
Recipe courtesy of:
http://www.recipegirl.com/

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk + 1 tsp. lemon juice)
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup raisins, or currants

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Grease muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  With pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  In a small bowl, stir together buttermilk and egg until blended.  Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir to combine.  Fold in raisins.
3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean.
4. Remove muffin tin to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before removing muffins.  Finish cooling on rack.  Serve warm with butter.

Yield: 12 muffins