Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Crunchy Cranberry Muffin Tops


To my absolute delight, my daughter is becoming a little food lover herself. The other day she made me a "salad" which consisted of crushed graham crackers, mixed with orange juice, topped off with some carrot sticks...mmmm. What do you do when your little girl comes up to you with those huge blue eyes and asks you to taste it? So I sucked it up, put on my best acting skills and went in for the kill. It did not. taste. good. However, there was no way I was going to break her little heart by not telling her it was the best salad I've ever had in my life, but I am so full that there is no way I can handle another bite of anything right now!

So after telling my mom about this, she was sweet enough to send my girl her own cookbook of recipes made for kids. It's a William Sonoma cookbook, and I love it because they are easy recipes, but they are also things that I actually want my kids to eat. My daughter loves the cookbook, and I often catch her sitting on the couch leafing through it, makes a mama proud! These muffin tops were the first thing we tried together and they were such a hit. I love the hearty flavor of cornmeal and addition of dried cranberries made them delicious. Great job princess!



Crunchy Cranberry Muffin Tops
Found in Cooking Together

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, buttermilk, butter, and honey. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the cranberries and orange zest and mix well.

3. Drop the batter by large spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, placing them well apart.

4. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 4 minutes. Serve warm with honey.

24 comments:

Sara said...

Hi, I just came across your blog and it's very cute! You've got a lot of great recipes. These muffin tops look great. Cranberries and the best part of a muffin. Yum!

Trish said...

Like these alot. I am thinking my staff will too. That means some more baking for me this weekend. Great shots too there.

Erica said...

hahahah that is the cutest story- what a pumpkin! These muffin tops look super yummy. Isn't the muffin top the best part?? Why waste the calories on the rest ;)

chow and chatter said...

yummy, oh your daughter is adorable so cute your are inspiring her to like food lol

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Sweeeeet! Your little foodie girl looks so proud!
~ingrid

Reeni said...

How precious! I bet she had fun making these! They look delicious - love dried cranberries!

Christo Gonzales said...

nice muffin tops and I love the little presenter - so cute!

Jenn said...

I guess you've got yourself a foodie in training. hehe...Love it!!!

I've always favored the muffin tops to the bottoms. So I know I'd like this a lot.

theUngourmet said...

That is too cute!

It's so great that your daughter wants to cook. Her muffins look perfectly delicious!

My son got a Star Wars cookbook for his birthday. :0)

Lara said...

Your little girl is just too cute! I love the sound of that cookbook and love that those muffin tops look so yummy. Great idea!

Heather S-G said...

Oh my gosh, she is so adorable...and just look at that proud smile! These sound delicious :D

Alissa said...

Aww so cute! Good job sucking it up & taking that bite of her "salad"! Her muffins look so yummy, we're big fans of anything cranberry around here!

Alissa said...

ha ha I just noticed you typed 1 cup dried honey instead of cranberries in the ingredient list...sounds great to me though...a little honey with some more honey! YUM!:)hee hee!

♥peachkins♥ said...

awww.. that is soo sweet. I like the photo of your daughter holding those muffin tops.she's very cute. I hope my girl will love cooking when she grow up..

Cucinista said...

This is for kids? Not fair. These sound fantastic. Way to get your daughter into cooking!

teresa said...

lol, thanks for catching that alissa! although more honey never hurts!

GarlicBOSS said...

How similiar our these to scones?

teresa said...

i think the biggest difference is that these are a bit more of a cakey texture, where scones are a bit flakier, like a biscuit. of course, i'm not a baking expert, so i couldn't tell you for sure.

Anonymous said...

AH! Your daughter is a BEAUTY! Such a sweet angelic smile, too!

And ooh! Muffin tops are the best part, who needs the bottom! Lovely recipe!

Kim said...

Awww...you daughter is beautiful! She looks so happy to be sharing the muffin tops. What a great way to spend time together. My daughter and I love to bake together and then we write notes and pictures by the recipe to remember our times in the kitchen. Great looking muffin tops:)

Katy ~ said...

Teresa, I was just roaring with laughter about the salad. And aren't you just the dearest Mom to eat it with such gusto.

Your daughter is an angel. Oh my, is she ever beautiful!!

Cranberry muffins, yummmmmm! Cranberries will be coming into season soon. What a wonderful and delicious way to celebrate this tart berry!

Julie said...

What a little sweetie :) The addition of the cornmeal does sound really nice!

Elizabeth said...

She is too cute! I bet you are so proud of her interest in cooking.

Judy said...

I love the story that comes with this recipe. Your daughter is adorable, and the recipe is great.