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Irish Soda Bread Muffins for St. Patrick’s Day

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This recipe is a nod to traditional Irish soda bread but in convenient muffin size. While soda bread is typically made in loaf form, muffins make portioning easy. There’s no need for slicing, so they stay fresh longer. And they’re just cuter this way.

Looking at ingredients, you might notice a few switches like using honey instead of white sugar, a blend of white and wheat flour and 1% buttermilk. While these changes make the recipe just a bit lighter, you won’t notice a difference in flavor.

With just a slightly sweet but mild flavor, these Irish soda bread muffins are wonderful any time of day and can be made with or without raisins. Have them with a bit of butter and a cup of tea for breakfast, as a snack throughout the day, or alongside a favorite St. Patrick’s Day dinner like corned beef and cabbage or Guinness stew.

Serving suggestion: Muffins shown here were made both with and without raisins. The plain muffins were also delicious with fresh chive butter.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted chilled butter, cut into small cubes
  • 1 cup buttermilk (1 Tablespoon lemon juice, plus 1% milk to equal 1 cup used here)
  • 3 Tablespoons honey
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 2/3 cup raisins (optional)

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 12-cup muffin tin using butter or spray.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  • Add butter to the bowl, and use two knives or a pastry cutter to cut in the butter. It should resemble coarse crumbs when finished.
  • In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk, honey and egg.
  • Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
  • Stir in raisins if using them.
  • Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Remove muffin ton and cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. Allow muffins to cool completely on a wire rack, or serve warm.
  • Store any leftover muffins on air-tight container.

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