Eat Well, Live Happy: Cranberry-Orange Muffins

I needed a recipe to use the rest of the cranberries that were leftover from my apple cranberry pie. My sister suggested making cranberry-orange muffins. I found two recipes that were pretty similar, except one had a streusel topping. I was in a bit of a hurry, so I decided to save that one for another day and make the recipe I found on Williams-Sonoma's website. These muffins took no time to make. I cut the cranberries in half, zested the orange, and chopped the walnuts. Everything else was just a matter of measuring and mixing. You do not need to use a mixer for this recipe, which makes it even easier. I always use baking cups to line my muffin pans and fill the cups with batter using an ice cream scoop. I thought these muffins were pretty good. If you don't mind the tart taste of cranberries, you will like them too! This is a great recipe to use in the fall or winter.

Cranberry-Orange Muffins

Recipe Courtesy Williams-Sonoma

Harvested from bogs when cold weather arrives and available throughout the winter months, tart, fresh cranberries are a signature fresh fruit of autumn and early winter. They are packaged in 12-oz. plastic bags that contain 3 cups of berries. Cranberries can be enjoyed throughout the year by freezing them in airtight freezer bags; they keep up to 1 year in perfect condition. The combination of tart cranberries sweetened with oranges, another fruit of winter, is one of the classic flavor pairings in baking.

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Grated zest of 1 orange

1 egg

4 Tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted, or walnut oil

½ cup milk

½ cup strained fresh orange juice

1½ cups fresh or unthawed frozen cranberries, halved

½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Preheat an oven to 375°. Grease 12 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray, or line with baking cups.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and orange zest.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, milk and orange juice until blended. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Using a large silicone spatula, fold in the cranberries and nuts just until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them level with the rim.

Bake the muffins until golden, dry and springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the muffins cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 muffins.