I never used to like muffins. That’s because I wasn’t baking them at home. My only exposure came at office staff meetings or birthday gathering. And you all know how that can be! Coffee slightly better than instant, and either a cake baked at a local grocery store, cookies straight off a grocery store shelf, or muffins that are absolutely flavorless and the texture – simply wrong! And OK, I know I’m picky! I just got to the point of not accepting a cup of coffee (just had some thanks) and mumbling something about having just had lunch or saving myself for a special dinner out or I’d rather eat dogfood (just kidding). Anyway, I was usually able to talk myself out of having to participate culinarily.  

But then, for some unknown reason, I decided to bake some muffins for Mr. C. because he really enjoys a good muffin with breakfast. And over the years I have learned to thoroughly embrace muffins for breakfast too. So, lucky you if you too believe that a great muffin should be part of a balanced breakfast. Because there are several great recipes for muffins on this site that might interest you. But for today, I’m going to concentrate on this lovely muffin recipe complements of the callmepmc.com site. (With a couple alterations from yours truly.)

Orange and cranberry have always been a winning combination. Throw in a few pecans for flavor and crunch, and you have a perfect trifecta. Then mix these three fabulous ingredients in with standard muffin batter ingredients and you have a winner. And a muffin everyone in your family will enjoy. Score!

So, as always, keep having fun in your kitchen, keep trying new and fun recipes, and always keep an open mind. If I hadn’t made muffins for my dear husband, I would have been missing out on an entire genre of caloric delicacies. (That probably would have been just fine.) But I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of preparing something that my husband really likes. (And that would have probably been OK too. But not nearly as much fun or rewarding. Nothing like something from the oven to ramp up the endearment quotient!) And God knows, I need all the help I can get!

Peace and love to all.

3-4 T. orange juice  

1½ c. dried cranberries

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 

½ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. brown sugar, packed  

2 lg. eggs 

½ c. plain Greek yogurt or sour cream 

¼ c. whole milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 rounded T. orange zest

1 c. chopped pecans, toasted

Spray a 12-count muffin pan with non-stick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside. (My batch made 16 muffins, so be prepared to grease or line another muffin pan.)

Bring the orange juice and dried cranberries to a boil in a small pan. (I used all 4 tablespoons of orange juice because my dried cranberries had been around for over a year. And they were really dry. If the dried cranberries you are planning to use are still kind of squishy, start with only 3 tablespoons of orange juice. And even then, you might have a bit of juice left in the bottom of the pan.) Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated and brown sugars. Beat on high until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute, then turn up to high speed until the mixture is combined and uniform in texture. (You might have a few small lumps even after mixing for a few minutes. Not to worry.) Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.  

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and orange zest together. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture; mix slowly just until combined. Drain any juice off the cranberries. Fold the cranberries and toasted pecans into the batter. Using a #16 (¼ cup) ice cream scoop, plop batter into prepared muffin pan. (The batter will come almost to the top of the muffin cup.) 

Bake in a pre-heated 425-degree oven for 5 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350-degrees, then bake for about 12 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.  Gently warm the muffins before serving.