Cornmeal Cranberry Muffins and some fresh air


Yesterday balmy temperatures and brilliant sunshine beckoned us outdoors before we had a chance to busy ourselves in the normal day-to-day routine, and welcomed us there for most of the morning.

While my ever-expanding girth kept me from romping in the snow as enthusiastically as Noah would have liked, I did manage to create the requisite snowman and thus Noah had a playmate to replace me.
With false contractions seizing my belly every so often, I hauled a lawn chair out of the shed, wedged it’s feet in a snowbank and sank into it to watch Noah play.
The sun shone down on me, warming my skin and lifting my spirits with it’s friendly reminder of spring to come.

We spent the better part of the morning like this until I noticed Noah had been snacking on the snowman’s carrot nose and had gnawed it down to a mere sad-looking stub.

Lunch, anyone?


These cornmeal muffins are a cinch to whip up, but don’t expect a cake-like, sweet treat. They are substantial enough to have for lunch with a bowl of yogurt and some fruit. I imagine you can use any berries you have on hand (blueberry-cornmeal is always popular), but I just had some dried cranberries left over from the holidays and they were just fine, too.

Cranberry Cornmeal Muffins Makes 16 large muffins 3 large eggs
1-2/3 cups vegetable oil
1-2/3 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon lemon zest or orange zest
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen or dried cranberries Topping
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare muffin tins with cooking spray. Mix together cornmeal, brown sugar and butter for topping. Set aside. In large mixing bowl stir together dry ingredients. In separate bowl mix together wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry mixture and fold together until moistened. Do not overwork.Gently fold berries into batter and fill prepared muffin tins three-quarters full. Sprinkle topping over each muffin and bake 20-25 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

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22 Comments

  1. It sounds like the perfect morning! We have another balnket of beautiful snow this morning, and I was so sorry to have to come to work when I really just wanted to take the boys to play in it.

    Your muffins look like a welcome treat. I love lunches like that.

  2. Well done with the snowman! It was hard enough slogging through that wet mess without having a little one on the way. The muffins look like a well-deserved treat to curl up with. Add a nap and you’ve described my perfect day. 🙂

  3. What a great photo of Noah Aimee! Thank you for sharing that with us! Glad you were able to get out of the house for some sun and fresh air. Makes a big difference no matterd how cold it is!
    Muffins sound great and I love the idea of them not being sweet! I too made “unsweet” muffins a few weeks ago and enjoyed them for breakfast with a dab of honey and at lunch with a salad!
    Counting the days with you!!!!

  4. Hi Valli- Thanks. 🙂
    Hi Peter- Yea, cornmeal strusel, who knew?
    Hi Amanda- Thanks for sharing my anticipation! 🙂
    Hi Sandy- Hopefully your snow will last until the weekend….
    Hi Pay Dirt-Oh, we napped, alright! It was pretty ideal.
    Hi Deb- Glad you liked the photo.:)
    Hi Deborah- I love anything cornmeal, but it is not everyone’s taste.
    Hi Michelle- They freeze well, too, which is a bonus.

  5. how cute that Noah was snacking on the snowman’s carrot nose! That photo of him is adorable. I would imagine it’s tricky trying to walk in snow for you right now.

    I haven’t made cornmeal muffins since my college days in Michigan. Yours look so yummy…miam!

  6. Hi Marie- I’ll keep my snow, thanks. I have a good excuse not to shovel, so don’t mind it one bit!

    Hi Cowgirl- Muffins are always popular with the children, eh?

    Hi Patricia- Uh oh. What’s up? Wish I could send you some.

    Hi Nora- Glad you liked the photo. I don’t mind the snow too much actually!

  7. Although I love anything cornmeal (I recently made the most wonderful cornmeal lemon cookies), I confess I clicked through from tastespotting because of the pewter dish you photographed with your muffins. My grandmother bought this serving dish for us decades asgo, and it graced our dinner table every night of my youth. Memories.

  8. Hi Jasmine- Welcome back. I really mean it. Thinking of you…

    Hi Kate- Welcome to UtHC! “Give us this day our daily bread” is the inscription on the pewter plate. This one was a wedding present, but my mother has one as well, which I grew up eating off of. Good memories indeed.

  9. I just made these this afternoon and they are wonderful! Not too sweet at all. Great combination – the cornmeal, berries and hint of brown sugar.