Another holiday favorite. Delicate corn muffins are studded with fresh cranberries for a delicious Fall twist. Enjoy them two ways: sprinkle the tops with sugar before baking for a sweeter breakfast treat, or savor the heartiness of the cornmeal and serve them alongside dinner (or Thanksgiving meal).

Cranberries are in season right now, and they should be available at most grocery stores. Get them while you can! Don’t bother popping one in your mouth while you chop these for this recipe. They are insanely tart. Once they are baked, however, they soften and take on a sweeter, less tart taste.

These are best served warm from the oven. If you choose to make these in the morning, ease any mental strain by measuring and mixing up your dry ingredients the night before. 

If you find that you haven’t used all of your cranberries up and are at loss with what to do with them, use them to decorate other baked goods. Check it out here.

Cranberry Corn Muffins (Holiday Entertaining from Williams-Sonoma)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk (2% is fine too)
• 2 tablespoons corn oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest (preferably organic)
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• 1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a standared 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or butter lightly. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisk to mix well. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, corn oil, melted butter, orange zest, and orange juice and whisk to mix well. Gently mix in the cranberries. Pour the cranberry mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until the ingredients combine in a lumpy batter. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling just to the rims. If desired, sprinkle muffin tops with sugar.

Bake until edges are golden brown, the center is set, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Turn the muffins out of the pan and serve hot or warm.

Yield: 12 muffins