Cranberry Muffins

I am going to a potluck breakfast tomorrow with some friends. Tonight after work, I made cranberry muffins, a treat I haven't made since I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I went out tonight and when I came back, my apartment still smelled like the muffins. Oh how I miss the smell of baking.

For fun, here is the recipe. I found it in a magazine years ago.

MIX-IN MUFFINS

 

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream, buttermilk or whole milk yogurt. Straight up sour cream is heavy.)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla 

Preheat oven to 400°F. and butter twelve 1/3-cup muffin cups. 

Into a bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Melt butter and in a small bowl whisk together with sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Stir butter mixture (and additional ingredients; see note, above) into flour mixture until just combined. Divide batter among muffin cups and bake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. 

Makes 12 muffins.

Becoming a muffin master is easy. Flavor the basic muffin batter below by adding, for example: - 1 chopped banana and 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips - 1 cup toasted almonds, 3/4 cup dried cranberries, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract - 1 cup chopped drained canned pineapple and 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut - 1 cup chopped dried apricots and 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Cranberry mix-in:

2 cups cranberries, picked over and rinsed
1 cups sugar
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

In a saucepan combine the cranberries, 1 cup of the sugar, and the nutmeg, cook the mixture over moderately high heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved, and boil it, covered, for 3 minutes. Simmer the mixture, uncovered, stirring, for 3 minutes and let it cool.