Cranberry Cardamom Muffins
Cranberries are a favorite of mine, for both my eye and my palate. I know I should be turning my attention to cookies and only cookies, but my love of this gem is only tantalized at Thanksgiving. I want the cranberry to stay in the mix as long as possible. I love them prepared every way, but especially roasted with sugar until they pop. Once roasted, fold them into a spiced, creamy batter, enjoy them with Greek yogurt and honey, or drop a few in some Prosecco; I mean they’re just beautiful. The cranberry is nature’s original sweet-n-tart candy concept, plus vitamins and minerals like Vitamin C, E, K1 , copper… I’m no dietitian but these seem like a better choice than sweet tarts.
There are not many batters that tempt me quite so much in their raw state, but this one has me stealing little spoonfuls. Cardamom has become a favorite spice of mine and I’m certain it improves just about any food. And trust me, once you roast cranberries with a bit of sugar, you’ll never want to eat them any other way. Nestled into this muffin, the cranberries are simple perfection and that sultry hint of cardamom takes them to next-level pleasure. I hope you love this one as much as I do; it is a show-stopper.
Be Sweet &
see you soon.
Geri
Cranberry Cardamom Muffins
makes 8-10 jumbo muffins
Ingredients
for the streusel:
1 1/2 C. Cherbourg flour
2/3 C. brown sugar
3 oz. salted butter (cool-ish)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 C. pure maple syrup
for the muffin batter:
2 1/2 C. Cherbourg flour
1/2 C. ground oats (blend them yourself, we use Trader Joe’s brand)
1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
8 ounces salted butter, room temperature
2 C. granulated sugar, divided
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 C. sour cream
1/4 C. Greek yogurt (full fat)
2 C. fresh cranberries
Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F. Combine fresh cranberries and 1/2 C. granulated sugar in an oven-safe dish, roast until the cranberries start to soften and pop about 8 minutes.
Turn oven down to 350° F. Butter and flour a jumbo muffin pan.
Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, ground oats, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Cream butter; add granulated sugar. Cream until mixture is light and fluffy. ( use your muscles ) Beat in vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream and Greek yogurt; beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Fold the roasted cranberries into the batter. Fill each cavity about 2/3rds up with batter and top with streusel. Bake in the middle of oven for 35-40 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy as-is, with powdered sugar or glaze (for our glaze we combine powdered sugar with a little hot water, and a pinch of cardamom)
