Early Thanksgiving Bonus Recipe - Banana-Cranberry Muffins with Streusel

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, my dear friends. I am only cooking small contributions to the big meal this year, having shuffled off hosting duty to my wonderful parents-in-law AND gotten my own parents to come down, too.  Two families' worth of food traditions?  This Thanksgiving will be, as Swarles Barkley says, LEGENDARY.

So I am whipping up a few family specialties - my grandma's exquisite buttery dinner rolls, a brie in puff pastry with almonds and apricots (for the before time...to keep the cooks' energies up!).  Maybe my grandpa's orange-cranberry relish.  These little post-a-roos will come after the holiday bloat, after the meal is digested, when you're looking at a fridge full of leftovers and wondering, "what now?"

This little recipe concoction calls for dried cranberries to be mixed right into the batter - a fine way to enjoy them.  But, in the spirit of Thanksgiving leftovers, why don't you try it with leftover fresh cranberries (made the same way, just increase the amount to a cup) or with leftover cranberry sauce.  The latter would probably be good either mixed in (thought it will muddy the color) or, better yet, left out of the batter -- then spooned in to the center of each full muffin cup, like a surprise filling!  Or 'marbled' onto the top, before the streusel goes on. Oh, there are just so may options...just like a Thanksgiving table!

What sets these muffins apart from regular banana breads is the citrus zest.  In fact, the first time I made them, I replaced the cinnamon/clove/nutmeg with a pumpkin pie spice mix that had lemon essence/extract in it.  If you're looking to amp up the citrus notes, feel free to add lemon zest too. Hey, you could even try replacing the water with orange juice, although I wonder if that would muddle flavors too much.  The banana is present but not overwhelming; the cranberries are tart but still sweet; and the citrus is almost an aroma in the palate – a hint, but a strong one. Like my hint for you to make me some of these. 

Banana-Cranberry Muffins with Streusel Tops

Yeild: 12 muffins (or one loaf)

½   stick butter/margarine, softened

1/2    cup white sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2    eggs

¼   cup water

1    cup mashed ripe bananas

½   cup dried cranberries (or 1 cup fresh, or 1/2 cup sauce)

1    Tbsp orange zest

1    tsp vanilla

1 ¾ cup flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½   tsp baking soda

½   tsp salt

1    tsp cinnamon

Dash    clove

Dash    nutmeg

Streusel Topping

¼   cup packed brown sugar

¼   cup flour

2    Tbsp butter

Cream butter and sugar together with a whisk in a stand mixer until fluffy and lightened in color.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Switch to the paddle attachment and mix in water, bananas, cranberries (omit if using sauce), zest, and vanilla.  

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Add to wet ingredients gradually, mixing until just combined. 

Streusel:  Mix together brown sugar and flour.  Rub in butter with fingers until well combined.

Spoon batter into muffin pans lined with paper liners.  (If using cranberry sauce, drop heaping teaspoonfuls into the center of each muffin.)  Top with 1 heaping tsp streusel mix, distributing any leftover evenly among muffins.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes until browned and skewer comes out with just a few crumbs.  

NOTES:  If making a loaf of bread, the baking time will go up significantly - probably by 15 - 20 minutes or more.  If making a loaf using cranberry sauce, I'd fill the pan with 1/2 the batter, spoon sauce down the middle, then  top with remaining batter.