Orange-Cranberry Muffins

this Recipe

Orange-cranberry muffins are a real treat this time of year. When you walk through the produce section of your grocery store, they are all selling fresh cranberries, sweet oranges, and new crop apples. It brings up the thought of the delicious treats that we anxiously wait for when the weather gets a little nippy. It can be pies, cookies, coffee cakes, or muffins; doesn't really matter, they are all great!

We got a big bag of cranberries today, so orange-muffin cranberries will be today's choice. When everyone is done working, they can relax with a nice, warm muffin. Everyone here loves the taste of cranberries and the smell is great too. We actually got to see a cranberry bog and walk into it several years ago in the Boston area; it was really cool!

When we make our muffins, we like to add a bit of crunch by incorporating a streusel filling in the middle, and to gild the lily, put some more on the top. This gives these tart, but sweet muffins some extra deliciousness.

Ingredients you need:

• granulated sugar
• brown sugar
• salt
• flour
• orange juice
• orange zest
• butter
• baking powder
• oil, (canola or vegetable is good)
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• cranberries

Making the muffins:

The first thing to do is make the streussel filling. In a bowl, just add the sugars, salt, flour, and orange zest. Mix this all together. Now, add the melted butter and mix until it all comes together. Set this aside while you make the muffins.

Mix all of the dry ingredients: flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Set this aside while you mix up the wet ingredients.

In a mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients: the oil, orange juice, vanilla extract, and eggs. Beat until they are all incorporated; just takes about a minute or two. Now, add the sugar and orange zest and mix until all blended, another minute or two.

Now, add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until all combined.

In a bowl, mix the cranberries with a tablespoon or so of flour, This helps the cranberries from falling to the bottom of the muffin. Now, fold the cranberries into the mixture.

Now, simply scoop some orange-cranberry muffin batter up about ½ the cupcake liner; we use an ice cream scoop. Then, fill with some streusel crumbling. Then, top with more batter almost to the top of the cupcake liner.

Top with more of the streusel, then bake in the oven at 350ºF for 25 to 30 minutes. You can test them by sticking a cake tester or toothpick in the center, if it comes out clean, they are done.

Enjoy them with a nice cup of tea or coffee for a morning breakfast. It's a real treat!

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