The combination of fresh cranberries and bright orange just screams "Christmas!" to me. So naturally, I just had to make a batch shortly following Thanksgiving. Who wouldn't want to trim a tree while munching on these babies and sipping on a cup of coffee?! Answer: crazy people.
I incorporate plenty of dried cranberries into muffins, cookies and oatmeals. But I love to take advantage of the holiday season when it's a bit easier to get my hands on the fresh stuff! Fresh cranberries are the perfect tart foil to the sweet orangey, almondy muffin. Plus they bring help keep these muffins nice and moist.
As with most of my muffin and quick bread recipes, these muffins are wonderful to bake ahead and keep frozen for festive holiday goodness at a moment's notice. Give 'em a quick toast to bring back that crispy, crunchy muffin top!
Cranberry Orange Almond Muffins
Ingredients
· ¾ cup sugar
· 2 eggs
· 1 tsp vanilla extract
· ½ tsp almond extract
· Zest of 2 oranges
· ½ cup sour cream
· 1 ¼ cup flour
· 1 tsp baking powder
· ¼ tsp baking soda
· ¼ tsp salt
· 1 cup fresh cranberries
· 1/3 cup slivered almonds
· Sugar for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 350F.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. This helps incorporate air into the batter. Add the eggs and mix to combine. Scrape down the bowl and add the vanilla, almond extract, orange zest and sour cream. Once thoroughly combined, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix or the cake will become tough. Using a spatula, fold in the cranberries and almonds by hand.
Spoon the batter into muffin tins lined with greased parchment cups. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with a bit of sugar.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the muffins from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 9 generous muffins
GF Friendly
Gluten Free Friendly!
Substitute the flour for a GF flour blend. I recommend Better Batter for this recipe.
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