Buttermilk almond muffins

I disliked almond flavoring as a child, finding it bitter and odd tasting.  Somewhere down the road, though, I came to love it.  I think my detection for bitter has decreased with age, and now I associate almond flavoring with rich pastries, often filled with sweetened cream cheese.  Delicious!

Almond muffins used to be quite prevalent, usually paired with lemon, occasionally poppy seed (I prefer the latter), but they seem to have fallen out of fashion, as things go.  I came across this recipe in my collection while searching for a way to use up leftover buttermilk.  The original recipe included lemon zest and curd, but I left them out and instead increased the almond flavoring.  I meant to add poppy seeds, but forgot.  It was supposed to make a dozen muffins; I cut the recipe in half, but got only 5 muffins out of it.

Here's what I used:

1/2+1/6* cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/6* cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
3/8 cup sliced, toasted almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a muffin tin or line with cupcake liners.  Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl lightly beat the eggs, buttermilk, butter, zest and almond extract; pour over the flour mixture and stir until just blended.  Divide the batter into the muffin pan cups. Top each cup with about 1 tablespoon each of the lemon curd and the almonds. Bake 15 – 20 minutes, or until tops are just turning golden and are firm to the touch.  Cool the muffins for 10 minutes before turning out and serving.

*1/6 cup = 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons

I like a high, domed top on a muffin, preferably cracked.  When I was filling the muffin cups, I quickly realized that the batter was going to yield 6 small, short muffins, so I filled the cups all the way and made 5.  Despite that, and what I think was excess baking soda, I did not get the nice tall tops as shown on the recipe source.

I questioned the use of 2 whole eggs in a dozen muffins; I found these too eggy.  I felt they also suffered from too much liquid, at least I think that was the problem.  (And I even think I slightly shorted the buttermilk amount.)  They were light, but a bit spongy-- I didn't care for the texture, and it didn't improve over time.  They did, however, have a very nice crispy exterior, although it lasted only while they were fresh.  There was a tad too much salt-- try unsalted butter-- and I could taste the baking soda. 

Conclusion:  Not the worst muffin I've ever made, but I'm not a fan.  Did I make an error in measuring?  Everything about these seemed a bit off, but I was extra careful while making them (because MORNING), so I find it unlikely.  (Although looking back, I think I used only 1/2 cup buttermilk, without the extra 2 tablespoons.)  Maybe my baking powder too old.  Anyway, I didn't like the texture, and the taste wasn't well balanced.  I guess the recipe was dependent on a strong lemon appearance and when I removed that, I lost the star.  (I see the recipe has since been removed from their web site, so perhaps it wasn't very good to start with.)

Recipe:  "Buttermilk Almond Muffins" via Go Bold with Butter

Blueberry Muffins V

 My obsession with the perfect blueberry muffin continues.  This is the fifth installment (hence the "V").  That said, this effort was a FAIL, by my fault alone.  I don't know how many times I have to tell myself NOT to try baking first thing in the morning, but I did it again.  And I made mistakes.  Mistakes that dramatically affected the outcome.  So I can't give a fair assessment of this recipe at this point.  (Some day I'll remake it, properly, and update this page.)

I was really excited about this recipe, not only because I know the author really does her research, but because also it uses only a small amount of milk (which meant they wouldn't be too soft and delicate) and because the batter was very thick and you're encourage to pile it high (which meant the muffins would have a nice, high dome.)  Those were two very promising characteristics.

The problems arose from making only half the recipe.  Couple that with the measurements being given in multiple formats (volume and weight) and it was all too much for this bleary-eyed night owl who'd just rolled out of bed.  I mismeasured the flour, the sugar, and the milk.  The milk!  That's critical to the texture!!  I soldiered on.

For 6 high-domed muffins (using her whole wheat option), here's what I was supposed to use:

3¼ oz (3/4 cup) white whole wheat flour
2¾ oz (5/8 cup) all-purpose flour
2⅝ oz (3/8 cup) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/16 teaspoon nutmeg
2⅝ oz (3/8 cup) virgin or refined coconut oil, soft but cool (or 3 oz unsalted butter)
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg, cold
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
5 oz (scant 1 cup) fresh blueberries

Heat oven to 350F.  Grease 6 muffin tins.  Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl.  Add the coconut oil or butter and mix on low speed until it becomes a mealy powder, about 2 minutes.  (If using coconut oil, the mix can be made up to this point and stored long-term.)

Add the milk, egg, and vanilla to the dry mix and stir to create a thick, dough-like batter, then gently fold in the blueberries.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins, piling the batter high.  (Top each with a sprinkling of sparkling sugar, if desired.)  Bake until domed and firm but still pale, about 22 minutes.  Serve warm.

The first mistake I made was dumping in an equal amount of AP flour before realizing it was supposed to be slightly less than the amount of whole wheat flour, so I scooped some out.  I think I did okay there.  The next mistake was dumping in the full amount of sugar (for 12 muffins); I scooped out what I could, but there was probably some extra in there.  The worst mistake was dumping in the amount of milk for 12 muffins-- that couldn't just be scooped out.  It rapidly soaked into the flour and sugar.  I sucked out as much as I could with a turkey baster (which also resulted in sucking out some of the extra sugar, since it dissolved in the milk), but by weight it wasn't nearly enough.  I probably ended up with about 3/4 the full recipe amount, rather than half.  This made the batter softer than it should have been (bearing in mind that whole wheat flour is "thirstier" than AP, which helped some), so the muffin tops spread more than expected.  The extra milk also might have been the reason why I had to bake them a few extra minutes, about 25 minutes.

Conclusion:  For all the failings, these turned out alright.  They weren't too sweet, there was a good amount of berries... even the texture wasn't bad.  I didn't use the nutmeg, but I think I'll try it next time.  I definitely need to try the recipe again, properly.

Recipe:  Blueberry Muffins via Bravetart by Stella Parks

Irish Oatmeal Muffins

(I seem to have misplaced my photos.  It's just an oatmeal muffin-- nothing too sexy about it.)

Following on from this post for oatmeal muffins a few years ago where I discussed my search for the perfect oatmeal muffin, I'm trying another recipe, one that I've tried before but didn't say much about at the time.  That probably means I thought it was just okay, acceptable. (I've also made these banana oatmeal muffins, which I liked better.)  I've made some small adjustments this time:  I used regular milk, but changed up the sweetening to add molasses (which provides the acid necessary to react with the baking soda.  For good measure, I squeezed in about a teaspoon or more of lemon juice, since I already had a sliced lemon handy.)  I also added just over a 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.  

The original recipe claims to make two dozen muffins; I made a note previously that 18 was a better quantity.  I cut the recipe in half this time and it filled nine standard muffin cups to the top.  Here's what I used:

1 cup buttermilk whole milk, plus juice from 2 small lemon slices
1/2 cup rolled (old fashioned) oats
1 egg
3/8 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons dark molasses
1/2 + 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon oil

Combine the milk and oats at least six hours (preferably overnight) before mixing and baking the muffins. Stir well, cover, and let rest in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 400F; grease the muffin tins. Beat the egg in a mixing bowl just until yolk and white are blended. Add the sugar and molasses and beat until smooth and well blended. Add the milk-oatmeal mixture, then the flour, baking soda, salt, and oil. Beat until the batter is well mixed. Fill the muffin tins almost to the rim. (The oats settle to the bottom of the bowl, so be sure to scoop them up with a spoon or ladle rather than pouring the batter into the tins.)  They usually bake about 20 minutes, but start testing for doneness after 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool on racks or serve hot.

This batter was very thin, liquid.  Nonetheless, it baked up fine.  (The oats and whole wheat probably soak up the excess moisture.)  The skewer came out clean at 15 minutes, but the center of the tops still looked a little glossy, so I gave them another 2 minutes.

The flavor was good, but not very interesting.  They needed something, either more spice (like a spice muffin -- the nutmeg wasn't noticeable) or a crunchy streusel topping.  The texture was extremely light and fluffy, like cake, probably from all that milk; I prefer something more dense and solid in a muffin.  (Maybe the amount of milk could be cut a tad.)  They were especially delicate while still warm, although they firmed up after cooling.  Because they were so delicate, they didn't come out of the pans nicely.  I probably would need to let them cool longer before trying to remove them, but then there's the risk of the edges firming to the point that they stick.  Perhaps the happy medium is to run a knife around the sides after they've cooled a few minutes, then letting them firm up more before trying to remove them.

Conclusion:  Nice, but I'm not inclined to make them again.  Mostly, they're not a texture I like in muffins, being far too delicate and soft.  Also, they're not so much a muffin to be eaten plain, but should have butter and jam.

Recipe:  Irish Oatmeal Muffins via The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham

Apple Walnut Muffins

 

One of my favorite recipes.  These muffins have big bites of tangy apples and crunchy walnuts that scent the kitchen as they bake.  You could change up the recipe to replace the raisins with other fruit, like dried cranberries, or apricots.  I've even thought about adding cheddar cheese.  I did replace most of the white flour with whole wheat, and they're fine either way.

To make eight muffins, here's what I used, with a few modifications:

1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups diced apple, unpeeled (about 1 large)
1/2 1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 cup flour (mix of white with up to 3/4 whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup broken walnuts (in large pieces)

In a mixing bowl, add the egg, oil, and vanilla and stir to blend well.  Add the apples, sugar, and molasses and mix thoroughly.  Sift together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; add the to apple mixture and mix well.  Add the raisins and walnuts and mix until they are evenly distributed.  Spoon into greased muffin tins.  Bake at 325F for about 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.  Serve warm.

Full disclosure:  I made these the moment I got up and, not being a morning person, I made a few mistakes.  First, I dumped the flour in with the apples and had to dig out as much as I could to sift with the other dry ingredients.  (After nearly doing the same with the baking soda and the cinnamon, I had to move the bowl away from my work area until I was ready for it again.)  Then, as I was transcribing the recipe, I realized I used only half the apple amount.  (And yet, they were still delicious.)  I really shouldn't be baking in the morning.  At least not first thing.

Conclusion:  These will continue to be on regular rotation in my house, but I'll be sure to add ALL the apples.  And now that I've thought of it, I'm really anxious to try the cheddar option.

Recipe:  Raw Apple Muffins via The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham

Blueberry Muffins IV

Still on the quest for the perfect blueberry muffin, this is attempt number IV....  It is very promising!  (Here are attempts I, II, and III.)  This recipe is very similar to the Maine Blueberry Muffins recipe in II.  That recipe was published in Redbook in 1988, one year after this one.

Compared to the Maine Blueberry Muffins, this recipe uses more blueberries, a little more sugar (which I wanted in the other), buttermilk instead of plain milk (with corresponding baking soda), the addition of vanilla, and slightly more butter.  Curiously, though baked at the same temperature, these are in the oven considerably longer, which did not produce a desirable result.

As with the Maine Blueberry Muffins, I made half the recipe.  For 6 muffins, here's what I used:

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons fresh blueberries
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (or plain yogurt)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Heat oven to 400F.  Grease 6 muffin tins.  Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl.  In a small dish, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and melted butter.  Pour this mixture all at once into the dry ingredients.  Quickly stir just to partially blend; add the blueberries.  Carefully fold together just to moisten; the batter will be stiff and lumpy.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins; the cups will be full.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack.  Or, if not using paper liners, tilt each muffin in its tin.  Serve warm.

 

The batter was very thick and rose nicely.  I did watch my oven temperature, but I think it was hotter than it was registering because they still seemed overbaked.  I took the muffins out of the oven a little shy of 25 minutes, but they were quite brown and a little tough on the exterior.  Otherwise, the texture was nice.  Since there's no benefit to a browned crust on these muffins, I'll use the silicone liners next time and/or reduce the oven temperature.  Then again, based on the other recipe, perhaps they just needed less time in the oven.

I made these with salted butter, then threw in another pinch, but they could have used a little more.  (Looking at the Maine recipe, I should just use salted butter and the full salt amount.)

Conclusion:  This might be... the one!  I always liked the Maine Blueberry Muffin recipe, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for.  This one comes much closer, although I might try adding a little oil to make them a little more moist.  Also, if possible, I think I could squeeze a little more batter into the tins to produce 5 larger muffins!  I'd like that, as long as they rose up and not out.

Recipe:  Blueberry Muffins via Jim Fobel's Old-Fashioned Baking Book: Recipes from an American Childhood

November ABC challenge: Persimmon Muffins

 This month's challenge was color.  I'm not sure I achieved it, but I tried.  Persimmons have a deep orange color that definitely warms up the color of the muffins.  The seed envelopes, which are a brighter orange color and showed up well in the raw batter, however, turned darker during baking, so are not visible.  But don't count out the bits of cranberry!

I love these muffins -- I've made them several times.  As I recall, the first time I made them I misread the quantity of persimmon pulp and used twice as much, but otherwise followed the recipe.  The results were dense and rich and chewy and incredibly delicious.  Since then, I have always included extra pulp (until today), but I've tinkered with the rest of the recipe considerably.  I really have to question the amount of sugar and butter in the original and whether I ever followed that instruction.  It's a lot!  Regardless, this is a great recipe no matter how it's done!  One of my favorites.

The recipe calls for 18 muffins, but I made 12.  My changes are in italics and strike out.  Here's what I used:

1 cup persimmon puree (preferably Hachiya)

1 1¹/₂ teaspoon baking soda

12 4 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature

1¼ 1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons molasses 

2 eggs

1¹/₃ cup all-purpose flour (3/4 cup white, remainder whole wheat)

1/2 3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Zest of one orange or 1/2 teaspoon orange extract

1 cup walnut pieces

3/4 cup currants dried, sweetened cranberries

Heat oven to 325 degrees; grease muffin tins* on the inside as well as the top edge of each cup.  In a small bowl, mix the persimmon puree with the baking soda; set aside.  In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until mixture is creamy and smooth.  Add eggs and beat well.  Sift together the flours, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.  Add to the butter, along with the persimmon, and beat until well blended.  Beat in the vanilla, almond extract, lemon juice, and zest until combined, then stir in walnuts and cranberries.  Fill each muffin cup and bake 45 minutes, or until a wood pick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin. Remove from the muffin pans and let cool on racks.

*These are very delicate so difficult to remove cleanly. Try using paper or silicone muffin cups. 

I had to use vinegar in place of lemon juice, but that wouldn't have affected anything.  And I didn't have orange zest, so I used 1/2 teaspoon orange extract.  I used two defrosted persimmons that have been in my freezer for two years, unwrapped.  They turned into a liquid pool once they defrosted -- shapeless, deflated lumps of pulp in a sweet syrup.  I used only the pulp, but I lost flavor and sweetness by excluding the juice.  I probably should have added it, since it was original to the fruit, but the pulp was already so wet.

The batter is quite light and fluffy and seems like it would rise into stable, tall muffins, but actually they always come out flat-topped and looking a bit melted.  I overfilled the tins, which created a crispy/chewy ring where it overflowed -- delicious!  This time I had some trouble getting them out.  I had to break a piece of the outer ring off so I could get a knife down and pry them out.

Conclusion:  These are indescribably delicious, especially warm out of the oven.  As prepared, they are plenty sweet, and buttery enough to leave your fingers a little oily.  If made per the original recipe, I think they should probably be served warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream!

Original recipe:  "Persimmon Muffins" via The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham

May ABC challenge: Blueberry Muffins III

The challenge this month is… well, personal challenge.  My biggest personal baking challenge is simply my kitchen.  It’s small, with limited storage and nearly no counter space, which prohibits attempting certain things that require a lot of space, like croissants or strudel.  So while I’d like to attempt those challenges, they’re just not practical.

Outside of recipes that require a better kitchen, I can’t think of any technical challenge I’d like to attempt at the moment.  I do, however, still have quests towards finding the recipe for certain basic items.  One of those is the perfect blueberry muffin.  It’s a bit like chasing the end of the rainbow:   it’s a moving target.  On one recipe I’ll make a note that there are too many blueberries, while another recipe with exactly the same quantity will seem just right.  Perceived sweetness levels vary from bake to bake of the same recipe, textures of the same recipe change from day to day…  It’s a unicorn.

Previous attempts at muffin perfection can be found here and here.  Today’s recipe is from a cookbook I’ve had for a while but never used, although the recipes it contains are the down-home types I prefer.  True confessions, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly because I was in a hurry and didn’t want to be bothered measuring carefully and getting every ingredient exactly right.  Also, I wanted at least a small health benefit, so I was hoping to substitute some of the white flour for oat flour or bran.  (Not whole wheat flour because it adds its own flavor.) But digging through my dry goods, nothing oaty was making itself immediately apparent.  I did find an unlabeled jar of some pale grain with a coarse grind that tasted mild.  I hoped it was oat something and forged ahead.

I cut the original recipe in half to make 6 muffins and made a few alterations.  Here’s what I used:

8 6½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of a coarse dry good of choice (rolled oats, corn meal, bran, etc.)
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
One large egg
3/8 cup whole milk
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease 6 muffin cups. Whisk together the flour, oatmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cardamom; set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, butter, vanilla, egg, and milk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until nearly combined, then allow to sit for a few moments to allow the liquid to be absorbed. Once thickened, fold a few more times to combine. Gently fold in the blueberries, being careful not to overmix. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown. The tops should be firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Well, these didn’t turn out anything like the photo in the book.  When I initially mixed the dry and wet ingredients together, the batter seemed WAY too wet, but it quickly started to thicken; I realized the grain was absorbing the liquid.  But fearful of ruining the muffin texture, I didn’t stir the thickened batter together as well as I should have.  Once in the pan, there was separated liquid floating on top that hadn’t been blended in.  The muffins didn’t rise much, and this liquid flowed over the edges.  It’s not a totally abnormal result, but it wasn’t what I was going for. (Pro tip:  break off all these edges while they’re still crisp and eat them immediately. By the next day, though still tasty, the high sugar content will make them sticky and chewy—almost candy-like.)

These did not come out of the pan nicely. I had to cut through the overflow and release that carefully from the pan, but even the greased cups didn’t release the muffins—they were too soft. I had to scoop them out with a spoon. Fortunately, they came out in one piece, although there was a fair amount of crumb left in the tin.

Despite everything, these had a nice texture, and I especially liked the nubbliness from the added grain. I was curious about the slight corny flavor when the obvious struck me—the mystery grain! It was a nice flavor (in fact I have a recipe for blueberry corn muffins), but did distract somewhat from the blueberry focus. They were sweeter than I would like, not as noticeable while warm, but far more so the next day. (Funny how that works. It’s the unicorn effect.) I would cut back by 2 tablespoons (for 6 muffins) to start. It was just the right amount of vanilla; I didn’t notice the cardamom at all, although it might have added something to the overall back flavor. I think the combination of using oil and butter is probably smart:  butter gives flavor while oil gives a moist crumb.

One bit of confusion was the intended pan size. I’m aware of only 3 sizes of muffin tins:  mini, regular, and jumbo, each twice the size of the last. This recipe called for “large muffin cups”, which to me would have indicated the jumbo size, but the recipe obviously didn’t make that much. The directions were to fill the tins only 2/3 full; mine were filled to the brim. I really dislike small, short muffins, which is how home recipes pretty much always turn out. So perhaps there is another, intermediate (i.e. “large”) muffin pan for professional use, something between the regular dozen and the 6-pack jumbo. If so, I’d like to get hold of one. Two-bite muffins are so anti-climactic.

Conclusion:  I really need to make these again, properly, following the recipe* (aside from reducing the sugar) to evaluate them adequately. They seem like a good contender, although more on the soft side than I would like. I think I’d prefer using salted butter, as I think it would bump up the flavor a bit and enhance the sweetness of a reduced-sugar recipe.

Recipe:  Blueberry Muffins via The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl and Griffith Day

*I think I messed up.  If I recorded my measurements correctly, the recipe I made would have used only 1 cup of flour for 12 muffins, but the original calls for 2 cups.  That would explain why my muffins were so flat and the batter so thin, and why they were so sweet.  That's what I get for trying to bake first thing in the morning.

Seedy Cranberry Muffins

I'm trying to use up the rest of the buttermilk I bought to make leek and potato soup.  This recipe seemed appropriately seasonal, but I just had to change the name from "Cranberry Seed Muffins" -- at first I thought they were made with cranberry seeds, which, while probably healthy, sounded tedious.

This recipe was supposed to make 12 muffins; I halved the recipe and ended up with 8.  Here's what I used:

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oat or wheat bran
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/6 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/6 cup hulled pumpkin seeds
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
1 egg
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons buttermilk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup fresh cranberries
additional oat bran, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds

Set oven to 375F.  Whisk together all-purpose and whole wheat flours, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk in sunflower and pumpkin seeds.  In separate bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, brown sugar, orange rind, and egg.  Add the buttermilk and butter, whisking between each addition until combined.  Stir in flour mixture in 2 additions just until nearly combined, then stir in cranberries.  Spoon into 6 to 8 greased muffin cups, then sprinkle with oat bran, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.  Bake in 375°F oven until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack.

The two muffins on the left front were baked in silicone cups and are noticeably paler

 

These took longer to put together than I had expected.  With three types of grains, two types of sugar, two leavening agents, and three mix-ins (plus orange zest, plus sprinkles), this is a recipe that really benefits from mise en place.  (Not my habit.  The first thing I did was melt the butter so it would be cool, but it took me so long to put all the rest of the recipe together that by the time I needed it, it had hardened again.  So I stuck it in the microwave for a couple seconds, at which point it exploded... but that's another story.) Other than the long ingredient list, though, these came together easily.

I don't know how you'd get only 6 muffins from this recipe... I even over-filled the cups.  (I do have a muffin tin with wider but shallower cups -- perhaps I could have gotten more piled up in one of those.)  I had greased only 6 of the cups in my aluminum tin, so for the other two I pulled out my silicone muffin cups.  I don't like the idea of baking in silicone, but I love the muffin cups because the muffins always pop right out and they're SO much easier to clean.  They've always seemed to bake fine, but side-by-side I noticed a big difference in the results between the silicone and the aluminum.  The silicone-baked muffins were visibly paler, both on the bottoms and the tops, and consequently were lacking the caramelized edges.  They also seemed slightly underbaked, slightly gummy.  (Perhaps it had something to do with the silicone cups not fitting fully into the aluminum, so they were halfway suspended.)  The taste and texture of the aluminum-baked muffins were far superior.  Now, would the silicone-baked muffins have improved had I left them to bake for another couple minutes?  Something to consider.  Curiously, the domes that overflowed the cups and baked against ungreased metal released easily, while the base of the muffins, within the greased cup, were a little difficult to get out.

Conclusions:  These had great flavor and texture, lightly sweet, contrasting nicely with the bright cranberries.  I wasn't big on the pepitas, more the texture than the flavor, and the sunflower seeds were lost.  I think I'd skip both next time and just use walnuts-- which would make them very similar to this Cranberry Orange Quickbread-- and maybe poppy seeds.  (I wonder if I could get some cornmeal into the recipe--- that might be tasty too.)

Recipe:  Cranberry Seed Muffins via Forgotten Bread, revised slightly from Canadian Living, Sept 2010

Note:  The original recipe by Canadian Living includes both the oat bran and the wheat bran, which would change the texture of the final product.  Otherwise the recipes are identical.