In the past couple weeks, I’ve seen fresh cranberries popping up in my neighborhood grocery stores. I love fresh cranberries – their color, their tarntness, stringing them with popcorn to make tree garland! I couldn’t resist picking up a couple bags.
Cranberry and orange has always been one of my favorite flavor combinations. So, I thought it would be fun to incorporate those into a muffin. Muffins are one of our favorite go-to breaksfast item around here.
With the morning rush of getting the boys up and dressed, lunches made, and Drew off to school – something that we can just grab and go with is a sheer savior sometimes. I think these would be a great easy treat to have on Thanksgiving morning as well. Enough to fill you up, but light enough to leave plenty of room for an early dinner!
Cranberry Orange Muffins
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
zest from 1 orange
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup cranberries, coarsley chopped
For streusel topping:
3 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.
To make the streusel topping, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix to combine. Using two forks, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in sliced almonds.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
In another bowl combine egg, milk, zest, orange juice, vanilla, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir to combine until just moistened, batter should be lumpy. Fold in cranberries.
Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Sprinkle streusel topping over muffin batter in cups. Bake in preheated oven, for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on wire rack for 5 minutes before removing.
Makes 12 muffins
Source: adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook
