Cranberry Upside Down Muffins!

I love cranberries! This particular recipe is one of my absolute favorites thanks to the delightful pairing of tart, juicy cranberries with comfortingly sweet pound cakey muffins. You could make this as a cake, but I prefer the muffins as a form of portion control (not to mention they are quite pretty)! They make a great breakfast or top with some whipped cream for a light, festive dessert. I gave this batch away to the local meal program, wrapped in individual baggies for easy transport. I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Cranberry Upside Down Muffins:

From Joy of Baking

Cranberry Sauce Ingredients

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice or water

Muffin Batter Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Butter well or spray, with a non stick vegetable spray, 12 muffin tins.

In a medium sized saucepan place the cranberries, sugar, and lemon juice (or water). Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries start to pop open, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly while you make the batter.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, egg, vanilla extract, and melted and cooled butter. Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture.

Stir just until combined. Do not over mix the batter or the muffins will be tough when baked.

Evenly divide the cranberry mixture among the 12 well greased muffins cups.

Evenly spoon the batter over the cranberry sauce.

Place in the oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack so the the cranberry topping is face up.

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

Happy Holidays!

P.S. Check out my guest post later today on bigbearswife.com!