If you had something this precious, wouldn't you want to keep it as healthy as possible?

I have the BIGGEST sweet tooth in the world, but thank goodness I also have people I love who I don't want to die early namely Micah and Nigel (see Nigel above). Today I figured that "bran muffin" is probably a synonym for longevity so I made my "mother-in-law's" (why call it that when it feels more like the real thing?) delicious Cranberry Bran Muffins and proceeded to eat 4 of them... smothered in melting butter.

Olivia's Cranberry Bran Muffins
Yields 12 muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in order listed, then add wet ingredients. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Live a long and happy life.

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups bran (I crushed up some bran flakes in my food processor and then measured 1 and 1/2 cups of the fine powder. I'm assuming you can use any kind of bran cereal as long as it's crushed well. Let me know about successes or failures trying other types of bran cereal.)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 beaten egg
1 cup sour milk
2 TBLS oil or melted shortening
1 cup craisins

***Photo courtesy of Jonathan Canlas, taken at the premier Film is Not Dead Workshop, North Shore, Oahu - March 2008.***