This is a post where it’s almost better to let the pictures in do the talking.
Cranberries are one of my favorite parts of the traditional Thanksgiving feast. I’m not a fan of the canned ones as much as I am of fresh ones. Have you ever made cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries? It’s almost as good as the turkey, and that’s saying a lot, because we love turkey over here at the Norris household.
Several, several years ago, my mom and I made for Thanksgiving these amazing cranberry oatmeal cookies. I probably ate half the batch myself with no regrets, they were that good. They were like oatmeal raisin cookies but with dried cranberries instead.
This year, I wanted to make a similar treat for Thanksgiving, some dessert that featured cranberries as the centerpiece. It’s just the two of us this year (well, three if you count a puggle who will do his best to eat his body weight in turkey), so one pumpkin pie will be plenty enough dessert.
So instead of making a cranberry dessert, I made some cranberry coffee cake muffins. According to Ryan, these are my “best muffins that [I’ve] made ever ever.” Finally, I was able to bake some gloriously fluffy muffins that rise tall and have the ideal amount of gentle crumble when you bit into them.
These were inspired by a desire for coffee cake that occurred over two weeks ago. Before the Valpo half marathon, I planned on making coffee cake for a post-race celebration. Due to a volunteer event, church, and then just wanting to relax the night before the race, I ended up not making coffee cake. Still, the thought of the sweet crumb topping that makes coffee cake worth indulging didn’t leave my food-focused mind until it ended up atop these delicious muffins.
Cranberry Coffee Cake Muffins
Laura NorrisIngredients
- 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup bread flour
- 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup milk any type will work
- 1 large egg
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup fresh cranberries roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon butter room temperature
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix.
- Fold the chopped cranberries into the batter. Divide the batter evenly amongst 12 muffin tins, filling almost to the top.
- In a separate bowl, use a fork or your fingers to crumble together the butter, flour, sugar, and ginger for the crumb topping. Spread over the tops of the muffins.
- Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the tins and then move to a cooling rack.