You all are probably laughing at my photo. Go ahead. I know it’s ridiculous. As much as I try to pretty things up with plates and napkins and other props, the bottom line here is that life comes before blog. What you see there is me on my way out the door to go sailing with friends in Abu Dhabi. Which is an hour and a half from home. I baked the muffins and stuffed them warm in a bag to go. The car was all packed and even the hound was already fully ensconced behind the front seat when I realized that I hadn’t taken a photo of the finished muffins. So that’s my hand and behind it, my front yard. And speaking of life, have I told you we bought a small sailboat? Yep, it’s a Drascombe Longboat and it lives in Abu Dhabi.
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| Her name is Jade, despite being blue. |
When we aren’t sailing, there is always piddling about to do: cleaning, repairing and general maintenance. We ended up not sailing on Saturday since weather was poor, but new ropes have been spliced to tie down the boat cover. It’s a man thing that involves technical knots and fire apparently.
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| Hard at work, splicing ropes. Women knit, I was told. Men splice rope. Right. Not to perpetuate stereotypes but I was happy in the kitchen, preparing lunch. |
Anyhoo, the muffins are tasty and perfect for this season of cranberries and holidays. Make some for Thanksgiving or to bring to a neighbor.
Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
3/4 cup or 170g sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 generous cup or about 135g dried cranberries (Mine are sweetened.)
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Generously grease cups 12-cup muffin pan or line with muffin liners.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.
In another bowl, whisk together milk, canola, vanilla and eggs.
Add all the milk/egg mixture to flour mixture.
Gently fold just until dry ingredients are moistened. Set a handful of the cranberries aside and then fold the rest of them in.
Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 12 muffin cups.
Top with the reserved cranberries.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.
Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing muffins from tin.
Enjoy!
I have a bag of dried cranberries in my pantry and I see muffins in my very near future...
ReplyDeleteHaha it's true, sometimes real life gets in the way of styled photos. But I like your realistic approach!
ReplyDeleteCannot wait to try these. So here's a question - have you ever done them with fresh cranberries? I'm thinking of trying this with fresh as I now live in a place where we actually have an abundance of cranberries!
ReplyDeleteI haven't made them with fresh ever, Marilyn, because those are hard to come by most places I've lived. Aren't fresh cranberries quite bitter? Maybe you could chop them up and macerate with sugar first? You'd have to drain them before folding them into the batter, but you could use the sweetened juice instead of some of the milk. And adjust the sugar down to half a cup, perhaps.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joanne! Needs must, as they say.
ReplyDeleteCan't go wrong with muffins, Renee. So easy and quick. Hope you enjoy them!
ReplyDeleteSTACY! Holy sweet mother of seatbelts, what a terrifying story. I can't even imagine what was going through your head that day. Thank God your family was safe, and thank God for the invention of seat belts! It's such a small thing, putting the seatbelt on every time I get in the car. I do it on autopilot, without even thinking about it. But yes, you're right, it's there to help save my life. Thankfully they did their job with your husband and daughter. As for the biscuits, YUM! I don't have a go-to biscuit recipe so I'm definitely going to try these.
ReplyDeleteSO glad your family survived this horrific accident. A blessing you'll never forget. And your biscuits look terrific!
ReplyDeleteI love cranberry muffins and your look delish!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the pic and the recipe looks FAB, too!
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness. So relieved you're OK.
ReplyDeleteJust when I thought that how many more types of muffins can there be, and I see you posting, tweeting and sharing all these delicious recipes from your kitchen and others. Am not a passionate baker, but the pics do make me feel that it's not a very difficult task!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh. Stacy!!!!! I was absolutely shocked when I saw the picture of that totalled car, I am so glad that your husband and daughter were/are ok!!! :( Seatbelts definitely do save lives. And more and more, I am just grateful that my loved ones and I are alive and healthy every day. That in itself is something to be thankful for. The rest is a bonus :) These biscuits look beautiful by the way, but your writing is what will stay with me. Thanks for sharing these moments of life with us Stace xxx
ReplyDeleteI'd be happier in the kitchen than splicing too! I don't know how you keep coming up with your muffin variations but I love checking in. Jade looks like a gorgeous gal by the way.
ReplyDeleteOh my. My heart is in my throat seeing pictures and hearing about it after the fact. I can't imagine what it was like when it happened.
ReplyDeleteYour biscuits look delicious. I'm very happy with my recipe but I'm going to try yours soon.
I guess any seatbelt is better than no seatbelt, Martin! I thank God every day for keeping us safe. Thank you, Martin.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kayle. It was scary!
ReplyDeleteI had to keep calm because I had Cecilie in the car with me and I didn't want to freak her out, but it was hard. I am so glad you have a warm home in the sleet too, Kelli! So many people don't have that.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed, Conni!
ReplyDeleteVictoria was fine after, Bea. I don't know that she even realized the import of what happened. We are thankful every single day! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours as well!
ReplyDeleteSo small but so very significant, Shaina! I don't get folks that won't wear them. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you shared your story…the biscuits are wonderful, but the story of thankfulness is worth reading. Thank God for seatbelts is right!
ReplyDeleteWow. Thank God for good judgement - and good biscuits too
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bateau Madame! It reminds me of Britanny, as do your delicious cakes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kelli! There aren't something I grew up with but I love them now.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Betsy! That's even better than just not laughing. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's why I always do the step-by-step. Hope you do try them as muffins are so easy and versatile. You can change out the cranberries for most any fruit or even chocolate chips.
ReplyDeleteMuffins are endlessly versatile, Ishita! And easy! They are great for unenthusiastic bakers. Although I find it hard to believe you aren't enthusiastic about everything kitchen related!
ReplyDeleteMy younger daughter called me to task on that one. I said that I was TOLD it was a man thing and frankly thought she would be better at it than the boys. :) The best part about muffins, besides being easy to bake, is their inherent portability. :)
ReplyDeleteAlways delighted when you check in, Nancy! Sailing is one of our favorite ways to spend a weekend day and Jade is a lovely, simple to sail boat.
ReplyDeleteMerci, Monsieur! I'm happy to be able to bring you some good memories. We love Brittany and often cross the channel to spent time there when we are in Jersey. Beautiful coast with beautiful food! If that's home for you, I'm jealous!
ReplyDeleteI am very enthusiastic, as long as I don't have to stick to proportions which is an absolute must in baking!
ReplyDeleteThe school program was compulsory and you knew when you enrolled your child there that the expectation was attendance. So I fear you would not have had a choice. The experience and growth was well worth the hardship!
ReplyDeleteMe too, Renee! We always wore them before because of what we had read about their effectiveness. Now we wear them because we KNOW.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome, Tara. Mix up a batch and freeze them. You'll be glad you did.
ReplyDeleteThat's it, Heather. End of story. I just don't get folks who still refuse!
ReplyDeleteFortunately I approached the car from behind, Courtney, so I saw that they were okay before I saw the damage!
ReplyDeleteThese biscuits are the butteriest!
Oh, Alice, that is such a tragedy. I am so, so sorry for your family's loss. I can even imagine getting THAT phone call. I know it's a blessing that no one else was injured as well but what a huge hole they have left in your hearts and lives!
ReplyDeleteThey took the other driver off by ambulance immediately and at first I heard that he had died. Then, days later, the police said he hadn't so I really don't know for sure. There was hardly anything left of his car though because it was much smaller than the Camry. I didn't see how anyone could survive in what it looked like after. (It's the car in the photo behind ours.)
They are, Lori! I am glad you are here as well!
ReplyDeleteI try to be thankful every day, Sarah, but I hadn't thought about this for a while. My husband still holds it close. He said it was like a nightmare when he suddenly saw the headlights right in front of him, with no way to avoid them. It just didn't compute for a few seconds.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words, Alaiyo!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jennifer! I love these biscuits and I am glad you do too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Katy! Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
ReplyDeleteThey are exactly like a buttery scone! But fluffier. I couldn't have said it better myself.
ReplyDeleteI am still taking name suggestions under consideration, Dorothy. Your vote counts!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness Stacy. Really thank goodness for seat belts. When I got my drivers license I was one of those people that insisted everyone where their belt. Oh and lovely biscuits as well!
ReplyDeleteWow what a moving story! I never made biscuits but you have inspired me!
ReplyDeleteThese look fabulous and perfect for this time of year!!!
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