Lemon Cranberry Muffins

I firmly believe that lemon and cranberry are one of the best flavour combinations ... like, evah.  This is why I'm always eager to try anything that pairs my mutual obsessions with cranberries and lemon into one blissful baked good. 

This recipe beautifully showcases the love affair between the cran and the lemon.  A match made in gastronomical nirvana.  In this recipe you have a sweet, moist and light muffin with more than a hint of fresh lemony goodness and then ba-bang!!  You get an explosion of a fresh cranberry, and then another .... and another!  A veritable profusion of cranberry!  Never has something that hails from an acidic bog in the northern hemisphere tasted so very good!

Now, I've said before that I don't have an overly sweet tooth.  But I do adore anything sweet that is balanced with a touch of sourness.  Kind of like my personality, I suppose.  You get my usually sweet disposition followed by a blast o' sassy spunkiness.  If you want a fancy way to say it, it's the juxtaposition of the sweet and tangy that titillates my taste buds and makes this moist muffin so very stellar.

You may be asking yourself ... 'Self, where does Laurie get fresh cranberries this time of year?'  Well, seeing that I don't live near an acidic bog here in the northern hemisphere I have to stock up on bags of fresh cranberries every Fall.  I toss these bags into my freezers and hoard them like the apocalypse is imminent.  They are my treasure.  My preciousssss. 

Currently I still have about 7 bags of cranberry goodness divided between my three freezers. I'm currently awaiting a TV network to come up with a new show called 'Frozen Food Hoarders' to showcase my obsession which could also include the 30+ frozen bananas and as well as Jumbo Freezies from 1998 that are stockpiled alongside the cranberries.  But I digress ...

These delicious muffins didn't last long in our house.  While Boy 1 and Missy Moo are not fans of the cran Brad, Boy 2, my parents and I eagerly divvied up these muffins and ate them all within a day.  Needless to say these easy-to-whip-up and oh-so moist muffins will definitely be making a regular appearance in my weekly baking.

Yield: 12 medium-sized muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large lemon
1 1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup grapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (I use them from frozen)

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin papers and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt.  Zest the lemon and add zest to the dry ingredients.

Halve the lemon and juice it.  Add 2 tbsp lemon juice to the milk and set it aside.  It will become clumpy looking and will give it an added lemon kick.

Meanwhile, lightly beat the eggs in a medium bowl.  Add oil and milk/lemon juice mixture.  Mix well. 

Gently pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and slowly blend (remember: Overbeating will create dense muffins!).  Fold in the cranberries (mine are always still frozen when I add them). 

Using a large melon baller (or large spoon) fill muffin tins.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.  Remove muffins to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.  Store muffins in an air-tight container or freeze for later use.

Inspired by: Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Lemon Cranberry Muffins