By Labor Day weekend and the summer is doing its formal ending. We drove to Meghan's for a small gathering—seven people, outdoor, the pandemic version of the cookout that used to be twenty-five—and Cormac grilled and Aidan and Liam ran the backyard and Nora sat on the blanket in the shade examining grass with both hands. Meghan's girls, nine and twelve now, were given the task of teaching Liam a card game they know and spent forty minutes on it with the patience of children who remember being taught. Liam learned the game well enough to cheat at it. Meghan said he gets that from me. I accepted the credit.
September begins in four days and Liam starts the new daycare on Tuesday. He has been packing his backpack daily since Friday. He packs: two trucks, a book about dinosaurs, a drawing he made for "his new teacher," and a cracker that I removed and replaced each day because it was not surviving the backpack environment. He is ready. He is so ready.
Made my grandmother's brown bread on Sunday, the last of the summer batches—I make it in late August to mark the turning. The apartment smelled like September before September arrived. Liam helped, his favorite part being the mixing that requires some force. He punches the bread dough and announces "I'm helping." He is. He really is helping.
This is the recipe I mean when I say my grandmother’s bread—her honey muffins, which she made every August and which I have made every August since she taught me. They are not complicated. They are sweet and dense and they make the apartment smell like something good is about to happen, which is exactly what I needed the Sunday before Liam’s first day. He punched the batter with the same enthusiasm he brings to everything, and I wrote nothing down because I didn’t have to—this one is already memorized.
Grandma’s Honey Muffins
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 18 minutes | Total Time: 28 minutes | Servings: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar until evenly combined.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Bring it together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined—a few lumps are fine. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough.
- Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 16–18 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool briefly. Let the muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. They are best warm, with a little butter if you’re feeling generous.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 195 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 185mg