Cranberry Eggnog Muffins (small batch)

 

I wanted to share one more bake with you before Christmas. These delicious Cranberry Eggnog Muffins are a recipe I adapted from a page called The Recipe Girl.  The original recipe made 14 to 16 muffins.  I did not need that many muffins and so I small-batched it to make a much smaller amount.

I got 8 medium muffins from a half-sized recipe. They were not overly large, but I felt they were just the right size, especially if you were going to serve them with breakfast and perhaps a few other things such as eggs, bacon, etc.

It is hard to believe that it is already Christmas Eve. I did not get half of the recipes cooked and tried that I had wanted to this Christmas holiday season, but that's okay. It gives me more to try next year.

I have really enjoyed everything that I have made for the holidays this year and I hope that you have too.  I wish for each of you a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanuka, a happy Kwanza, a lovely Festivus, a pleasant couple of days, whatever it is that you celebrate!

I am not going to be posting any new content now until after Boxing Day. (Dec 26th.) I will be busy entertaining family and spending some quality time with them! If you do have any questions or comments, however, don't hesitate to email or get in touch. I will be sure to respond as soon as I can!  Be well and be happy!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CRANBERRY EGGNOG MUFFINS

Just a few simple ingredients. 

For the muffins:

• 1 1/8 cup (145g) plain all-purpose flour
• 1/2 TBS baking powder (6g)
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 fluid ounces (89ml) eggnog
• 3 TBS butter, melted (38g)
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup (50g) fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1 TBS granulated sugar (12g)

For the streusel topping:

• 2 TBS plain all-purpose flour (16g)
• 2 TBS granulated sugar (24g)
• 1 TBS butter, softened (14g)
• 3 TBS coarsely chopped pecans (23g)

If you cannot get eggnog, you can use undiluted evaporated milk or even single cream in its place and you will still have a very good muffin. In that case, I would add some grated orange zest and a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon.

If fresh cranberries are not available to you, you could use dried cranberries. In that case I would leave out the TBS of sugar for dusting the berries.  You could also use blueberries in their place but they will not be quite as tart.

 

HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY EGGNOG MUFFINS

These are simple to make. I have given you a list of hints and tips at the end to make your muffin baking results turn out superb!

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter 8 cups in a medium muffin tin really well or line with paper liners. Put some water in the unused cups to prevent the pan from buckling.

Whisk the flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl. Whisk the egg, melted butter, almond extract and eggnog together in a beaker. Mix the TBS of sugar and chopped cranberries together.

Rub the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, butter and pecans for the streusel topping together until you get a crumbly mixture.

 

Add the wet ingredients to the flour/sugar/baking powder mixture and give everything a whisk together just to combine. Stir in the sugared cranberries.

Divide the mixture between the prepared muffin cups. Top each with a portion of the streusel topping.

Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the muffins test done. They should spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

 

HINTS AND TIPS FOR BEAUTIFUL MUFFINS

Here are my hints and tips for making sure that your muffins turn out beautifully every time:

1. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. To prevent the mix from being overworked, first mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and mix the dry ingredients in another. Make a well in the dry ingredients, carefully pour in the wet ingredients, then stir the mix a couple of times to roughly combine. 

 2. Don't over mix your muffins. The most important rule of muffin making is to not over stir the mix. What you really want is to just moisten the ingredients. Do not stir or beat the batter until it is smooth and lump free. You want the final mix to be lumpy, and thick with a few floury streaks.

 3. Add your flavors last.  While spices should be added with all the other dry ingredients, additions like fruit and nuts should be added last. Give the batter one more light-handed stir once you've added them in just to combine.  

4. Line the pans. You can choose to either grease the muffin tin or line it with paper liners. If you choose to forgo the liners, make sure you grease the base and sides of the cups with oil spray or a little melted butter. If you're not going to eat the muffins for a while, do use paper liners as these will keep the muffins fresher for longer. 

 5. Don't overfill your pans. Aim to fill the cups ¾ full to get muffins with nice round tops and to prevent them from spilling out over the top of the cups.  Often if your tins are over filled the muffins will rise to the top and then collapse on themselves.

 6. For extra interest, add a flavorful sprinkle on top.  Once the muffin cups are all filled, you can choose to sprinkle the tops with more fruit, nuts or a crumble topping, even sanding sugar or cinnamon sugar, for even more taste and or crunch. As the muffins rise these toppings will cook into the tops of the muffin.  

7. Protect your baking pan.  If there isn't enough batter to fill all the cups, half fill the empty ones with water. This will help the muffins bake evenly and will help to protect your pan from buckling. 

8. Cooling them down. Once you remove the muffins from the oven, let them sit in their pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. This is especially important for muffins that aren't in a paper liner, as it will help them from falling apart. However, remove them after five minutes otherwise you risk them going soggy as they cool in the pan. 

9. Freeze extras for later. Muffins freeze beautifully, so if you can't enjoy them all on the day they're baked, wrap them in plastic, and put them in the freezer for later. They will keep for about 3 months and reheat wonderfully in the microwave for about 30 seconds on high from frozen. 

 

These were really good, although the flavor of the eggnog was not really pronounced. They were moist however, and there was a nice lot of cranberries in them.  If you want more of an eggnog flavor, I suggest adding a touch of nutmeg to the muffins.

They were not huge, which I liked, and they were not like little cakes but had a beautiful muffin texture which I also liked. I loved the addition of that nutty streusel on top!

Here are a few other muffin recipes that you might also enjoy!

GINGERBREAD MUFFINS - I am a hug fan of gingerbread anything. I think gingerbread is probably one of my favorite things to bake and eat! They are moist and delicious with a lovely crumb and beautiful ginger/cinnamon flavor. The recipe makes a full batch of 12 fabulous muffins!  

ORANGE MUFFINS - Buttery, moist and filled with orange flavors from the outside in.  These are winners all round! I chose to stud mine with dried currants, but you may like raisins, or nuts, or blueberries, etc. You may even prefer them to be plain.  One thing is for sure, you will enjoy these moist and delicious muffins. Fresh orange flavors filled with an optional fruit and sweet glaze. You can't go wrong! 

Yield: 7 - 8 medium muffins

Author: Marie Rayner

Cranberry Eggnog Muffins (SMALL BATCH)

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

These delicious holiday muffins are studded generously with chopped cranberries and topped with a moreish pecan streusel.

Ingredients

For the muffins:

• 1 1/8 cup (145g) plain all-purpose flour
• 1/2 TBS baking powder (6g)
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 fluid ounces (89ml) eggnog
• 3 TBS butter, melted (38g)
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup (50g) fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1 TBS granulated sugar (12g)

For the streusel topping:

• 2 TBS plain all-purpose flour (16g)
• 2 TBS granulated sugar (24g)
• 1 TBS butter, softened (14g)
• 3 TBS coarsely chopped pecans (23g)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter 8 cups in a medium muffin tin really well or line with paper liners. Put some water in the unused cups to prevent the pan from buckling.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl. Whisk the egg, melted butter, almond extract and eggnog together in a beaker. Mix the TBS of sugar and chopped cranberries together.
3. Rub the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, butter and pecans for the streusel topping together until you get a crumbly mixture.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the flour/sugar/baking powder mixture and give everything a whisk together just to combine. Stir in the sugared cranberries.
5. Divide the mixture between the prepared muffin cups. Top each with a portion of the streusel topping.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the muffins test done. They should spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

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