Finally! Cranberries are now in stock at grocery stores in Charlotte. I've been waiting for this for a while. Unlike in New England, cranberries only make an appearance in Charlotte late October and through the holidays.
Now that we've got them, it's time to hoard bags and bags of fresh cranberries in your freezer. (I enjoy hoarding food that is scarce, don't you?)
So what to do with all those hoarded cranberries? Bake up a batch of cranberry muffins. Obviously. They make a delicious, healthy grab-and-go breakfast. I use whole wheat flour and yogurt in this recipe, so you can feel good about eating these every morning.
By the way, how cute are these muffin liners? (They have little owls and spiders printed on them.)
Cranberry Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want your muffins)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain yogurt (I used Stonyfields Organic Plain)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
Demerara sugar for topping (optional)
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Fold in yogurt.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt; stir into the creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in cranberries. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two thirds full. Sprinkle tops with Demerara sugar, if desired.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove to a wire rack.