cranberry muffins


I have got to get more creative with the post titles. I think I just run out of steam.

Did some more weekend morning baking again this Saturday. I thought muffins would be a nice morning food - ready before princess ballet and tap class, just in time for when Josh woke up. The most workable fruit I had was cranberries, so I used the KA basic muffin recipe, which has a good dozen variations listed, and added cranberries. The coolest thing about this recipe is the batter supposedly keeps for a week in the fridge. So in theory, you can mix up a batch, bake off three or four to feed the family, and then make yourself hot muffins in about 20 minutes any morning that week. Nice!

They recommended letting the berries stew in oj, water, or alcohol before incorporating them. I had no oj, didn't want spiked muffins, and thought apple juice would sub nicely for water. It's only 2.5 tablespoons, and since cranberries are so tart, the extra sweet can't hurt. The recipe wasn't clear on whether to drain the berries before stirring them in, so I didn't. The muffins came out great in any event.

I had demerara sugar on hand, so I sprinkled some on top for that nice sugary crunch. I actually have another sugar with an even larger grain, the name of which I don't know, that my mother-in-law bought me for tea. Maybe I'll try that next time just for fun, but the demerara grains felt just the right size.

I am a huge cranberry fan, and in each bite, you get a perfect burst of cranberry. They are definitely a little tart, which doesn't much bother me. I added about another tablespoon of sugar to the recipe to compensate, but if you like a sweeter muffin, it might be worth using another fruit instead. These were delicious - and who could argue with hot muffins on a weekend morning? Not Boy-o, apparently... he gave his usual, "want some!" declaration before mowing down every bite put in front of him.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I have a craisin muffin recipe that sounds pretty similar - without all the stewing etc. Haven't had time to post it.

Cute muffin cups - where'd you get yours? I just bought a MASSIVE STASH of new ones...
Anonymous said…
Mmm. Now you're making me want to actually get up early on Saturday mornings to bake. :) What KA mixer cookbook have you been referencing in several of your posts?
Jami said…
Jenn - I think these were from Party City - they seem to have great deals on off-season stuff!

Sulkygrrl - My husband bought me a 3-pack of King Arthur Flour cookbooks. I like their flour, but until recently never knew much about the company. Apparently, they are a cooperative, and they have an awesome test kitchen, and they just started a blog... they sound like a neat company.

The books are a basic all-encompassing baking book, a cookie book, and a whole-wheat baking book (which I've yet to use). Mostly, I've been using the basic all-baking book.

Saturday baking is more appealing than I gave it credit for - especially since I'm already up with the kids! I probably wouldn't get up early to do it voluntarily. :-)
Hilary said…
That is so cool the batter keeps for a week. Will you copy the recipe for me next time I see you please?