Eggnog Cranberry Muffins

For years, I had nothing to do with eggnog.

I just didn’t get the point of it. Milk, egg yolk, sugar, spices, and booze? It didn’t sound very appetizing to me at the time.

Then I grew up (literally), and had a change of heart and tastebuds.

And now I think it’s pretty tasty all on its own and it’s fantastic as an ingredient to use in baking recipes.

Eggnog is mostly sugar and liquid dairy/fat, which are both ideal for baking. It’s best to try to incorporate it into recipes that can stand up if not be helped by the thick eggy-milk consistency, and also will work with its delicate holiday spiced nutmeg flavor.

I found great success with using eggnog as the liquid element in these scones from last year’s 12 Days of Christmas.

This year, we’re bringing eggnog back into the holiday baking rotation, this time with an even easier and just as delicious recipe.

Muffins are another one of those Blank Canvas recipes that I love to make. They come together in minutes and they’re foolproof to the point where you can experiment with and remix them to your hearts content.

Eggnog is mixed directly into the batter of these muffins, along with another of my favorite holiday ingredients: my cranberry-clementine sauce. Just a heaping teaspoon worth of a dollop is mixed into the muffin batter so that when they bake, it forms a small but bright pop/swirl. I also added an ‘eggnog’ flavored streusel to the tops of the muffins for added flavor and texture.

These were really good. The eggnog gave both flavor and moisture to the batter of the muffins, and the cranberry swirl provided a perfect bright pop/swirl of fruity/tart flavor. They were gobbled right up. If you’re in need of a quick, easy, but delicious Christmas holiday morning breakfast/brunch, trust me: it should be these.

Just one day left in the 12 Days of Christmas; I can hardly believe it!

Day 1: Browned Butter & Sweet Potato Biscuits

Day 2: Biscoff Dipped Butter Cookies

Day 3: Holiday French Toast

Day 4: Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls

Day 5: Cider-Cinnamon Spritz Cookies

Day 6: Butter Pecan Biscotti

Day 7: Glazed Holiday Donut Cakes

Day 8: Cranberry Noel Cookies

Day 9: Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies

Day 10: Honey Cornbread Cookies

Day 11: Eggnog Cranberry Muffins

Eggnog Cranberry Muffins

Recipe Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg, room temperature
1 cup eggnog
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce (I use this one)

For streusel topping

1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make the streusel topping: mix together the flour, sugar and nutmeg in a small bowl. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork until it forms into large clumps. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the first 5 ingredients together.

In another bowl, whisk the egg, eggnog and melted butter until blended.

Add to the flour mixture; stir until just moistened.

Spoon 1 tablespoon batter in bottom of each of 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Drop 1 heaping teaspoon of cranberry sauce into the center of each. Top with remaining batter and cranberry sauce.

Use the tip of a steak knife to cut through the batter with a knife to swirl.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.

Cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.