My Orange Cranberry Muffins - They're Special!

Christmas came and went and I didn't make my orange cranberry muffins.
I love to make these during the holidays because of the combination of
winter fruits and the way they make my house smell when I am baking
them.  Sweet orange and tangy cranberry belong together. This is the 
season to eat fresh citrus fruits and even though the holidays are over and
the cranberries might be harder to come by, if you had the forethought to
buy a few extra bags and put them in the freezer when they were on sale,
then you can recreate this holiday treat any time this winter.

These are  special muffins.  Not the, "dump the dry ingredients, mix the wet
ingredients and combine" muffin.  The list of ingredients is kind of long,
includes fresh foods and comes together more like a cake than a muffin.
They are tender, oh, so tender.  They should be assembled on a morning
when you have a little extra time and want to turn out an above average
breakfast treat.  That's why I like to make them at Christmas.  But since I
didn't have the time then, a Saturday morning is about the next best thing.
Saturdays are the day for pancakes, waffles, french toast or muffins around
here.  The pace is slower and since Mark doesn't usually work on Saturdays,
and kids are sometimes coming in and out,  I have someone around who can
enjoy these baked goods with me.

So here's how they come together.  Begin by chopping the fresh
cranberries in the food processor.

Gather the dry ingredients and spices.  This recipe calls for unbleached

plain flour and a little cake flour.

Blend in a bowl and sift with a whisk to remove any lumps.

Zest an orange.  I love my microplane zester.  It is one of the most used

tools in my kitchen. Be careful though.  They are sharp and if you aren't 

careful, you will zest your finger which isn't on the ingredient list and doesn't

feel very good.  Zesting with the back side facing up makes it easier to see

where you need to move it around on the orange so you don't get the white

pith in there with your zest.  That's bitter and you don't want it!

Then you can just turn it over and dump the zest on your cutting board

to be measured for the recipe.  Quick and easy.

After zesting, juice the orange.  I guess you could use dried zest and 

orange juice from a carton, but they won't be as good.  Fresh ingredients

are what makes this recipe special.  I promise you'll be happier with the

results if use them.

Beat the softened butter and sugar.  If you forget to take the butter out of

the refrigerator ahead of time, along with the buttermilk and eggs, which 

are also supposed to be at room temperature, you can carefully warm 

things up in the microwave.  Well, not the eggs...

Just be careful.  One second can make the difference between softened

butter and melted butter.

And you can warm up the eggs in a bowl of hot water.

I didn't plan ahead to make this, so none of my ingredients were at room

temperature.  I helped them along using the methods I've mentioned.

This is where the instructions begin to sound more like a cake than a 

muffin.  The flour mixture had to be added in thirds, alternately with 

the eggs and the buttermilk, taking the time to scrape the bowl throughout

the process.  A little bit of extra work , but we're not going for normal,

everyday muffins here.  Remember?  They're special.

After the batter comes together, gently fold in the chopped cranberries.

I love the bright red berries, so pretty.

Scoop the batter into muffin tins.  I like to use cupcake liners, sprayed

with cooking spray.   But today I was out of them, so I put them 

directly into the pans.  Before putting them in the oven, sprinkle sugar

on top.  I especially love the turbinado sugar, like Sugar in the Raw.

It's big and crunchy and looks pretty on the tops of the muffins.

I'm also thinking that a confectioners sugar glaze made nice and thick with 

a little more of that fresh orange juice, drizzled over the tops, just might make

these even more delicious.  Hey, if you're eating something that tastes like

cake for breakfast, might as well go for a little frosting too!  I think I'll

try that next time.

Either way, I think you'll agree they're really yummy and very special.

 Orange Cranberry Muffins

1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, picked through and rinsed

2 cups unbleached plain flour

1/2 cup cake flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

10 T. unsalted butter, at room temp.

3/4 cup plus 2 T. sugar

2 large eggs, at room temp.

1 1/2 finely grated orange zest

1 t. vanilla

1 cup buttermilk, at room temp.

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 T. sugar in the raw

Position rack near the center of the oven and heat

to 425 degrees.  Use cupcake liners and spray

with cooking spray.  Coarsely chop cranberries in 

food processor.  In medium bowl, mix cake flour,

plain flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy,

about 2 minutes.  Scrape bowl.  Beat in eggs,

one at a time, scraping after each egg.  Beat in

zest and vanilla.  On low speed, add 1/3 flour

mixture, then 1/2 c. of buttermilk.  Next add

1/3 cup of flour mixture, then rest of buttermilk and 

orange juice.  Mix in rest of flour.  Fold in cranberries.

Sprinkle tops of muffins with sugar.

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes.

*2012 Goal of Eating the Mediterranean way - using fresh and seasonal ingredients.