Tuesday Treats & Titles: Irish Soda Bread Muffins

It’s March! St. Patrick’s Day is coming! Yippee!! Yes, there is Irish in me and I don’t mean coffee. 😉My maternal grandmother was a Ryan and that’s about as Irish as you can get. And her father’s name was Patrick. And you can’t get more more Irish when it comes to food than Irish soda bread. This takes bread a step into the treat world.

Instructions

1 – Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly.
2 – Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C). Using baking liners, line a 12 well muffin tin.
3 – Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, currants, and caraway seeds if using into a larger bowl and blend lightly.
4 – In the butter bowl, add the egg and buttermilk, whisking to break up larger butter clumps.
5 – Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and using a large non-stick spatula or implement of choice, very gently fold everything together until the dry is barely moist. Over mixing will result in heavy, tough muffins so avoid the urge.
6 – Split the thick batter between the 12 muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with sugar if desired.
7 – Bake for 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean (a few crumbs are ok) from a center muffin.
8 – Remove the tin from the oven and set on a rack. Carefully tip the muffins on an angle so the bottoms are up, keeping them from turning soggy. Let cool for five minutes then remove the muffins to a cooling rack to cool and serve.

Tips

You can “make” buttermilk if you don’t have any on hand or don’t want to buy a carton. For each cup of buttermilk needed, add 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup and pour in enough milk to measure 1 cup. Stir, then let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. It will curdle slightly; just whisk it back together before using it. Don’t be tempted to eyeball the vinegar, as you could end up with overly sour bakes or not enough acidity to react with baking soda or powder.
Tips
1 – Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly.
2 – Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C). Using baking liners, line a 12 well muffin tin.
3 – Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, currants, and caraway seeds if using into a larger bowl and blend lightly.
4 – In the butter bowl, add the egg and buttermilk, whisking to break up larger butter clumps.
5 – Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and using a large non-stick spatula or implement of choice, very gently fold everything together until the dry is barely moist. Over mixing will result in heavy, tough muffins so avoid the urge.
6 – Split the thick batter between the 12 muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with sugar if desired.
7 – Bake for 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean (a few crumbs are ok) from a center muffin.
8 – Remove the tin from the oven and set on a rack. Carefully tip the muffins on an angle so the bottoms are up, keeping them from turning soggy. Let cool for five minutes then remove the muffins to a cooling rack to cool and serve.

There are many Irish wolves in my Moonstruck world but the largest congregation is in Boston. You can pick any of the mates and I’d lay odds they have this recipe stuck back somewhere for when they have time to bake. If not, I’m guessing there’s a bakery in the neighborhood that serveds them up by the dozen. They wanted me to share the recipe so you can practice before St. Paddy’s Day gets here and they also want me to suggest you grab their book, MOONSTRUCK MAFIA: BOSTON, so you can read all about them. If you’ve already read the book, maybe it’s time for a reread and maybe make time to drop a review at your favorite bookseller site? Anyway, you can click on either pic with the cover, along with the title. The links take you to Books2Read where you can find the seller of your choice! Happy munching!

About Silver James

I like walks on the wild side and coffee. Lots of coffee. Warning: My Muse runs with scissors. Author of several award-winning series--Moonstruck, Nightriders MC, The Penumbra Papers, and Red Dirt Royalty (Harlequin Desire) & other books! Purveyor of magic, mystery, mayhem and romance. Lots and lots of romance.

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7 Responses to Tuesday Treats & Titles: Irish Soda Bread Muffins

Vero says:

March 3, 2026 at 7:11 am

Errrrrr…Thursday?? Did I sleep THAT long??? Geesh!!!

- Silver James says:
  
  March 3, 2026 at 3:26 pm
  
  Yeah…I fixed it. The caffeine had obviously worn off when I was setting up the blog. 😳
  
  - Vero says:
    
    March 3, 2026 at 4:16 pm
    
    😅😅😅
    
Vero says:

March 3, 2026 at 7:14 am

These sound a lot like my “Breakfast Muffins.” I will definitely try your recipe.

- Silver James says:
  
  March 3, 2026 at 3:27 pm
  
  It’s pretty easy and offers up a different taste and a little bit different texture–kind of a cross between scones and bread.
  
jovialvampyre says:

March 3, 2026 at 9:04 am

Tuesday and Thursday pretty much the same to me 😉.

Those muffins sound yummy and very easy to make. Thank you 🩷😋🩷.

The wedding is the 21st, less than 3 weeks away. I am so happy that the dress and shoes fit. I hate shopping.

It freezing rain and then just rain today and the rest of the week. A good comfort food, oh look above ☺️, week.

Have a great day!

- Silver James says:
  
  March 3, 2026 at 3:31 pm
  
  OMG! Y’all really are in countdown mode! Yay! I bet it will be a beautifully happy occasion. 🤗 I hope you enjoy the muffins. They really are easy and yeah, comfort food for cold, rainy days. I’m still hoping for rain here.