Fresh Cranberry and Pumpkin Muffins with Maple Glaze

I still have a few recipes to share from the fresh pumpkins I bought a couple of weeks ago. Once the pumpkins are baked and pureed, the puree can also be frozen for months - but I had several recipes I wanted to make.

Last week was Pumpkin and Maple Granola.  And as mentioned on my Harvest Monday post this week, I also used some pumpkin in a pasta (delicious when combined with sage, kale and sausage).

And now for the next recipe - these delicious muffins!  In addition to the freshly made pumpkin puree, I also used fresh cranberries.  I find most muffin recipes use dried cranberries.  But with Thanksgiving taking place recently, there is an abundance of fresh cranberries in every store!

As for some of the other ingredients, I used a 50/50 split of multi-blend flour and white flour.  All white flour is perfectly fine for this recipe if preferred.  And I used muscovada sugar as I wanted a bit of molasses flavour without actually using molasses.  Regular brown sugar is also fine here.

Makes 10-12 muffins depending on size.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup muscovada sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
3/4 cup fresh cranberries
Maple Glaze (see below)

Put all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine.  In a large bowl, add all remaining ingredients except the cranberries.  Stir to combine the wet ingredients.  Pour the dry into the wet and fold gently to combine without over mixing.  Add the cranberries and give another short stir to mix them in.

Spread batter among the cups in a 12-muffin tin.  I made 11 the first time around and only 10 the second batch.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Maple Glaze:  While baking, make the glaze by combining 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp maple syrup, squirt of vanilla and up to 1 Tbsp milk (use only enough milk to create the consistency you want).  Once muffins have cooled slightly, remove from the tin and place on a rack.  Drizzle the glaze over top so it also runs down the sides.