{Recipes} Lemon Cranberry Muffins

When my daughter spotted cranberries in the produce aisle at the grocery last week, she squealed.  She loves cranberries and has even been known to eat them raw (yuck!). 

 

Her favorite way to eat cranberries is Cranberry Chai Cupcakes.  But, cupcakes are a little much for breakfast (except for birthdays, of course), so we decided to try a new cranberry muffin recipe.  We found a great Lemon Cranberry Muffin recipe that I tweaked ever so slightly.  The result was a delicious, sweet, yet tart muffin. I loved the texture of these muffins.  They were denser than a cupcake, but still light and airy.  And, my daughter certainly approved of these! 

Lemon Cranberry Muffins (Adapted from Allrecipes)
2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
zest of one lemon
sparkling sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line 16 muffin cups with paper muffin liners.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Using a grater, zest lemon peel into a small bowl.  Then, squeeze 1/4 cup lemon juice from lemon.  Combine lemon juice and milk.  Set aside so milk can sour.

Mix eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.  Pour sour milk into egg mixture and beat on low.  Add the entire flour mixture into egg mixture.  Beat on low just until combined.  Stir in cranberries.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 the way full.  Sprinkle with sparkling sugar, if desired.  Bake about 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean.