Cranberry Sauce Spice Muffins with Streusel Topping

So, Thanksgiving is nearly here and this is my last contribution towards it for this year. These muffins are truly bursting with holiday flavor and IMHO can be used in place of cranberry sauce if you’re just using it for traditional purposes. I would say it’s great to use for using up leftover cranberry sauce (and it is) but I’d make these with forethought, not hindthought.

**I’m adding an update here, a reader mentioned making this in cake form and I had to test this for you. Thanks to SF for sharing! She made it in a 9 x 13 pan but I preferred 2 English cake tins, which are long loaf pans, These measure 31 x 10 centimeters and produce an elegant cake, perfect for holidays or Shabbat. The prep is precisely the same just bake in the 2 English loaf pans for 30-35 minutes or till lightly browned and a wooden toothpick comes out clean.**

Now on with the muffins! These are moist and tangy and just try to eat one, I dare you. In fact, I immediately froze half the batch in fear it would disappear (with my and DH’s help) too fast. So yes, they freeze very well. You can make these ahead and just let ’em defrost before it’s time to serve. These happen to be amongst my favorite muffins.

As with all muffins, you don’t need a mixer, just one bowl for dry ingredients and one bowl for wet. Just make sure not to overmix them or it toughens the muffins. Assemble the ingredients and turn on your oven to 400 F.

Start with whole berry cranberry sauce, yup, for real. The brand isn’t important, the whole berry is.

Open the can, pour into your “wet” bowl and using a fork, mash it well, we don’t want clumps. Next add to the bowl the eggs, orange juice (first grate the orange peel off your orange, then juice it) and if the orange hasn’t enough to equal the cup, add some frozen or bottled. Add your oil and whisk well together till completely mixed.

After whisking well.

In a separate bowl, mix up your flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg as well as the orange peel.

Whisk well till fully combined.

Next take out a muffin pan and about 4-5 additional muffin holders (I usually use the stiff cardboard kind and place on a baking pan) since the recipe makes about 16 muffins or so and oil spray well, including the top of the muffin pan for easy removal. You want all your ducks in a row, since once you add the wet ingredients to the dry, you don’t want the batter to wait around. Straight into the prepared pan(s) and into the hot oven. So set aside the prepared pan and first make the streusel topping before mixing the wet and dry together.

Put the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix together. Now add the oil starting off with two tablespoons and stir till a crumbly texture forms, it will feel a bit sandy, that’s fine. We are using oil here so there’s a bit of a difference but it’ll be good, no worries.

Set aside. Back to our muffins. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir together just until combined, no over mixing, this is really important. Too much mixing, tough muffins. You’ve been warned!

It’s a pretty pink color, and by the by, the end muffin is a faint pink inside, which adds a little fun to your holdiay.

Immediately scoop the batter into the muffin pan, filling to almost the very top like so:

This will give you a nice domed top. Then immediately sprinkle the streusel topping on all the muffins. You will have enough for 16 muffins or so.

Pop all your muffins in the hot oven and bake for 20-24 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack and using your toothpick loosen the muffins all around before removing. These are very beautiful to look at so really nice for a special occasion or no occasion at all!

Cranberry Sauce Spice Muffins with Streusel Topping

3 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
grated peel of one large orange
1 cup orange juice
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce- 16 ounces/2 cups or 453 grams
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil

Streusel topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons oil

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and grated orange peel. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, empty cranberry sauce can and mash with a fork to remove big clumps. Stir together the sauce, orange juice, eggs, and oil till thoroughly combined, set aside.

Next prepare the streusel topping in a small bowl. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon till combined. Add two tablespoons of oil and mix well, incorporating all the ingredients and crumbs should form. Only add the third tablespoon of oil if the mixture is dry and not forming crumbs.

Prepare your muffin pan by oil spraying well and the top of the pan to make removal easier. Now combine the wet ingredients with the dry, scraping from the bottom, just until incorporated. Don’t over mix or the muffins get tough. Evenly scoop the batter into a muffin tin. You should have enough batter for four to five more muffins, which you can use standing muffin cups for or muffin tins. Evenly sprinkle your streusel topping over all the muffins.

Bake for 20-24 minutes at 400 F, or till a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Loosen edges of muffins with the toothpick before removing.