There are certain words and phrases that drive me completely crazy. I spend a lot of time reading recipes and articles and food blogs, and am always looking for new things to try in the kitchen. I like to read about what has worked for other cooks in their home kitchens and what new tricks I should try. It is encouraging and inspiring to learn from others and more often than not I am blown away with the ideas and creativity that I come across.
But at least once a day I come across some cutesy cook that wants me to “pop” something into the oven. Or the freezer. Or “pop” on over to the store.
I pop bubbles.
Rice Krispies pop. They also snap and crackle.
You can pop popcorn.
Tires pop.
Pop goes the weasel.
Oh! When we were kids my mom used to have impatiens by the front door and they had these little green seed pods– those pop.
When I make muffins nothing pops (or at least I hope that’s the case).
Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together. Then add your eggs. When the mixture is smooth slowly beat in your dry ingredients. Then fold in the sour cream until it is even throughout.
Add in your dried cranberries. These plump up when you bake them. They are sweet and tart and delicious.
Squeeze in your lemon juice. And add lemon zest. Stir and then fill up your little muffin cups.
These were an afternoon snack for the hungry boys so I made mini muffins. And even though mini muffins are very tiny and cute, no one “popped” them into their mouth. They just plain old ate them. All of them.
Cranberry Lemon Mini Muffins
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour (or whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup dried cranberries
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
To Make
Preheat the oven to 375 and line muffin pan with paper liners or lightly grease. In a medium sized bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt. Cream together the butter, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the eggs. Then slowly add in the flour mixture. Fold in the sour cream and then stir in the cranberries. Squeeze in the lemon juice, add lemon zest, stir and then fill the prepared muffin cups. Bake mini muffins for about 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.