Cranberry Pecan Muffins

Halloween has yet to come and I am ready for something other than pumpkin in my culinary repertoire. And I haven’t had a single pumpkin spice latte or pumpkin anything this season yet. Just looking at all the pumpkins, everywhere and all the time has sated my appetite for pumpkins. And so I am officially moving past pumpkins onto other fall flavors such as cranberries. Tart and rich in flavor not to mention nutrients these little berries are often a one-appearance a year sort of a food at our Thanksgiving table. Furthermore, more often than not, the single appearance is out of a can and resembling something gooey and unappealing. I am on a mission to reinvigorate our love of all things cranberry with non other than cranberry pecan muffins. The pecans are rich and buttery and the cranberries offer a perfect counterpoint of tartness.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

Streusel Topping:

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

Batter:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1.25 cups pecans
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 2 tsp. powdered sugar

Instructions:

Pulse all but the last ingredients of the streusel topping in your food processor. Add the butter making sure to separate the pieces of butter around the bowl. Pulse a few more times until the topping resembles wet sand. Pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate. Preheat the oven to 425*F.

Without washing out the food processor, pulse the pecans and sugar for the batter. Whisk the butter, eggs and milk together and add the pecan/sugar mix. Whisk thoroughly, add salt and baking powder. Add flour and mix just enough to ensure that the flour is absorbed. Without washing out the food processor, pulse the powdered sugar and cranberries until the cranberries are roughly chopped (5-6 times). Add the mixture to the batter and mix carefully. Allow the batter to stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a muffin baking dish. After ten minutes, scoop the batter into the individual tins ensuring that it is divided evenly. Spoon 1.5 tbsp. of the streusel topping on each muffin gently pressing. Bake for 17 minutes if using convection or 18-19 otherwise. Enjoy!