As my teenagers spend less and less time at home, the quiet vacillates between feeling peaceful and piercing my heart with loneliness. Music helps but also takes my mind down roads that sometimes compound unwanted dark thoughts. I choose instead spoken words, which softens the quiet and gives feeling that there is someone talking to me. Podcasts provide endless stories, interviews, education, and verbal companionship. My current obsession is the Heritage Radio Network with thousands of podcasts related to food, my passion.
While listening to an interview with a bartender/mixologist/author on the history of classic cocktails, all of a sudden my herbal world collided with hers. Bitters!
One of the absolute first principles I learned related to herbalism was that almost anyone can benefit from a few drops of bitters before meals to support their digestion. A well-made bitters formula is a vital tool of the trade. Equally so in the cocktail world where bartenders refer to bitters as their salt and pepper.
It turns out that cocktail bitters originated from medicinal bitters formulas added to spirits to make them more palatable. Even better, adding a dash of cocktail bitters in cooking enhances flavor and complexity just like it does with mixed drinks. I think this opens a world of possibility for a bit of good medicine and taste.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 18muffins | 40minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 25-30minutes |
|
|
- Bitters spiked plum jam
- 1/2 cup plum preserves
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Bombay Sapphire gin
- 3/4 teaspoon Angostora Bitters
- Muffins
- coconut oil spray for coating muffin pan
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose organic flour
- 1/2 cup (62.5g) gluten free all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup granulated organic sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups (16oz) buttermilk
- 3/4 cup avocado oil can substitute any organic vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups (174g) wheat bran
- 1/2 cup bitters spiked plum jam
- 3/4 tsp ginger powder
- Mix jam the day before making muffins to let flavors infuse together. In small bowl or jar, mix together plum preserves, gin, and Angostura bitters. Cover and store in refrigerator overnight.
- You will need a 12 cup muffin pan and a 6 cup muffin pan. I have found that the darker gray, non-stick pans make muffins with nice volume on top. Muffins seem to spread more on top in the lighter gray pans, but either will be fine for
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray muffin pan with coconut oil spray so each bottom and sides of each muffin cup is thoroughly covered.
- Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Whisk together to combine. Set aside.
- Measure wheat bran into a small bowl. Set aside.
- In large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, avocado oil, and eggs until well blended.
- Add dry ingredients and wheat bran together and mix gently with a wooden spoon until ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix, though.
- With a ¼ cup measure, fill each prepared muffin cup with ¼ cup of batter. With a small spoon, make a little opening in center of each muffin batter by pushing gently on batter.
- Fill each hole with 1 teaspoon of spiked plum jam.
- Mix ¾ teaspoon ginger into remaining batter. Top each muffin with a small amount of batter to cover jam. Batter does not have to completely cover jam. Gently spread batter over jam as best you can.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until toothpick tester comes out clean.
- Cool for about 10 minutes in pan then gently lift and transfer to wire racks. These are also delicious warm, right out of the oven.
**Using organic ingredients whenever possible will make baked goods all the more nourishing. For these muffins use organic jam, organic flour, organic sugar, organic eggs, organic oil, organic buttermilk if available.
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