Thomas Jefferson's Favorite Muffins Were Made With Just 3 Ingredients

Have you ever wondered what Thomas Jefferson liked to snack on? If the answer is yes, then you'll be interested to know that the recipe for his favorite muffins is available thanks to Monticello.org, the website of his former home, Monticello. The original recipe was found in the cookbook of Jefferson's granddaughter, Septimia Anne Randolph Meikleham, and has since been modernized by Monticello staffers. The best part about these Monticello Muffins? They require just three ingredients.

Here's what you need to make them: 4 cups of flour, 1 ½ packets of yeast, and 1 ½ cups of water. Ideally, these muffins are cooked on a cast iron griddle, but if you don't have one, you can use a regular cast iron pan (although you'll have to make more batches), or another type of griddle (carbon steel is the best replacement for cast iron). Start by mixing the flour, yeast, and water. 

Next, knead the dough — which will be sticky — with your hands and add in small amounts of additional flour while you knead until the dough is no longer sticky. After the dough is ready, it requires a good amount of rising, so place it in a bowl and cover it with a towel to let it rise overnight. The next day, shape the dough into small balls — about the size of golf balls — and place them aside to let them rise for one more hour. Finally, heat up the griddle and cook the muffins for five minutes on each side over medium heat.

Unfortunately, we don't know how Thomas Jefferson preferred to eat his Monticello Muffins — maybe he ate them with butter, maybe he preferred them plain — so we'll just have to come up with our own ideas for how to serve them. According to the recipe, the muffins look like biscuits on the outside and English muffins on the inside — so we should treat them like biscuits and English muffins. 

Of course, just a simple spread of plain butter will taste delicious. Or, you can add on your favorite type of jam. If you're in the mood to make your own, perhaps you want to try out our easy strawberry jam, or, for a more complex fusion of flavors, you can use rosemary and pear jam.

If you want to break from tradition — despite the fact that these muffins date back to at least Jefferson's lifetime — you can opt for something more unique such as coffee butter or spiced honey butter. Speaking of honey, a drizzle of honey — or even hot honey — will also taste delicious over these muffins. And if you really want to go all out, you can even use the Monticello Muffins to craft an ultimate egg sandwich or another go-to breakfast sandwich recipe.