It is truly fall.
I’ve made my first recipe with cranberries. For some folks, Fall means pumpkin spice everything. They're wrong. To understand how so many could veer off the path of good taste, you can read Food & Wine’s Surprising History of Pumpkin Spice.
For me, it’s cranberries. Maybe it’s because they are such a New England thing, having driven by so many cranberry bogs in my life, but this is the flavor that captures autumn. The New England Historical Society even has a list of 6 cranberry bogs to visit. I am lucky enough to have friends that visit the Cape each Fall and they always bring me back a stash of fresh from the bog.
This year, I’m starting out slow, baking up a warm batch of orange cranberry muffins to have with my morning tea. Muffins may not be the most nutritious breakfast ever, but these have 2 fruits, dairy, and eggs!
If you don’t like cranberries (who exactly are you, anyways?), you can substitute blueberries in this recipe.
On a slightly dreary, pretty cool Sunday morning my house now smells like oranges and cranberries, which is a very good thing.
This recipe makes 15-16 muffins, so you have enough to share with your neighbors.
Recipe
Makes 16 muffins
Ingredients
3 cups AP flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (if you’re adventurous enough to freshly grind, you do you.)
8 tbsp butter, room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
2 eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange extract
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cups cranberries (1/2 roughly chopped)
Demerara sugar for coating
Directions
Preheat oven to 375º
Line 2 muffin tins with paper baking cups. Lightly coat with baking spray. (This helps with the release of the muffins so the yummy tops don’t rip.
Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Reserve.
Place sour cream in a small mixing bowl, add the orange juice, then whisk until smooth.
In a stand mixer, add the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.
Cream for 3-5 minutes on medium high speed until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time on low speed, combining each time.
Add the orange zest and both extracts, beat for one minute on low.
Again, on low, add the flour and sour cream in alternate steps about 1/3 each time, beginning and ending with the flour.
Don’t overmix.
Remove mixing bowl from stand mixer.
Add the cranberries by hand, folding gently.
Using a large ice cream scoop, fill the muffin liners all the way to the top.
Sprinkle generously with demerara sugar.
Bake for 20-24 minutes until golden brown on top.
Remove from oven, remove from pan and place on cookie rack.
Enjoy Fall!