Cooking Lesson #385: Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins

The 2021 Holidays Recipe Collection

How you doin’? It’s hard not to love the flavors and the aromas of the holiday season—warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom), pumpkin, cherries and cranberries—that evoke fond memories of this time of year in years' past. Pumpkins and cranberries should not be relegated to pies and sauce only. Freshly baked Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins are perfect for the holiday breakfast table. 
 
Tens of thousands of years ago, receding glaciers carved out cavities in the land that evolved into cranberry bogs. Newly formed kettle ponds filled with sand, clay and debris formed the perfect environment for vines to spread across the South Shore, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Massachusetts was born with cranberry bogs. For two hundred years, it has been where tradition has met innovation.
 
While cranberries have grown in the wild for over 12,000 years, cultivation of the cranberry began in 1816, shortly after Captain Henry Hall, a Revolutionary War veteran, of Dennis, Massachusetts, noticed that the wild cranberries in his bogs grew better when sand blew over them. Captain Hall began transplanting cranberry vines and spreading sand on them which were then flooded.
 
Prep time:  20 minutes
Bake time:  20 minutes
Yield:  12 muffins
 
Ingredients 
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400⁰ F.
2. Place paper or foil muffin cups in a 12 cup medium-size muffin tin.
3. Mix the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl.
4. Beat the canned pumpkin puree with the eggs, butter, buttermilk and vanilla together in another large mixing bowl.
5. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until well blended. Do not overmix.
6. Hand-stir in the dried cranberries until evenly blended.
7. Spoon the batter into muffin tins about 3/4 full.
8. Bake the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.
9. After 5 minutes out of the oven, turn the muffins out of the pan.
10. Serve warm or at room temperature.

ChefSecret:  If you have the time add a crunchy topping with toasted pecans or streusel. Mix up a little streusel as a crumb topping for the muffins—flour, butter, brown sugar and chopped pecans. For a little variety, try substituting toasted pumpkin seeds or dried cherries for the cranberries.

Quip of the Day: “To all you guys out there who want their special lady to feel appreciated during the holiday season, place her photo on the counter with a sign that says, Woman of the Year!”
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Have a wonderful safe and healthy holiday. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. 

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                                          ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

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