Brown Sugar Muffins

OK. Here we go. This is gonna be fun. For a long time I've been wanting to have a blog for all the chefs in our family, to share those recipes once and for all, that we've been calling eachother for. Ya know, when we've searched through our 'recipe area' drawer/cupboard/book/ and cannot seem to find the envelope/magazine page/scrap piece of paper on which we have jotted the info. I think it is only fitting that the first recipe here is one of the oldest recipes i have. I mean, I think I first made this in my second year of marriage. We were in school at BYU, and at some luncheon someone made this to go with - of all things - taco salad, which I DO NOT recommend as a combination. BUT the muffins were good and I've been making them ever since.

Brown Sugar Muffins

Cream together:
1 cup(packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening ( I use crisco butter flavored, or you could use regular crisco. DO NOT use butter-contrary to popular belief everything IS NOT better with butter - sorry dairy association and all past princesses thereof. I LOVE butter, but if you use it in this recipe the muffins will not puff up all pretty and round. Save the butter to slather on top of the cut muffin while it is still warm from the oven.)
When that is all fluffy, add:
1 egg

beat and add:
1 teaspoon baking soda & 1/2 teaspoon salt

beat, then add 2 cups flour, alternately, with 1 cup milk (OK, about the milk. When my kids were little it seemed like we were always just about out of milk. That's when I discovered that MOST recipes that call for milk will also work if you used reconstituted non-fat dry powdered milk, or evaporated milk, mixed 1/2 for 1/2 with water, or just 1 cup straight from the can. No one can tell the difference in the finished product, and it saves the "real" milk for the kidlets. )

Grease 12 cup muffin pan (doesn't matter which 'grease' you use, just don't use papers)

Put an even amount of dough in 12 cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
You kind of just need to practice to get the time just right-it depends on your oven. You can use a toothpick to check for done-ness, it should come out clean. You can also use the 'spring-back' technique, ya know, touching it with your finger to see if it bounces back.
These muffins are great right out of the oven with aforementioned butter, and a glass of milk or OJ. If any are leftover, they are good split in half, lightly buttered and then toasted under the broiler until sizzling and crispy on top. Oh yeah, this recipe makes 12 muffins. Sorry if that was too much info and not enough recipe for your liking. When you post a recipe you can write it however you want to, ok? But seriously, try the muffins, I think you'll like them. Except
DO NOT serve them with taco salad. I'm just sayin...

P.S. You will probably never see a calorie count or any such info in my recipes. Have you met me?