Cranberry-Pecan Muffins

From the episode: Rise and Shine Breakfast, America's Test Kitchen.

I reproduce this article here with no intention of copyright infringement. It bothers me that you have to go through an entire registration process to get this recipe. It's rather brilliant, making "flour" with nuts and all, and I would have just posted the link but I don't want you to be obligated to register.

Makes 12 muffins

If fresh cranberries aren't available, substitute frozen: Microwave them in a bowl until they're partially but not fully thawed, 30 to 45 seconds.

INGREDIENTS

STREUSEL TOPPING

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch pieces, softened
•   Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup pecan halves

MUFFINS

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups pecan halves, toasted and cooled
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. FOR THE STREUSEL: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Process flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, and salt in food processor until mixture resembles coarse sand, 4 to 5 pulses. Add pecans and process until pecans are coarsely chopped, about 4 pulses. Transfer to small bowl; set aside.
• 2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Spray 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray with flour. Whisk flour, baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt together in bowl; set aside.
• 3. Process toasted pecans and granulated sugar until mixture resembles coarse sand, 10 to 15 seconds. Transfer to large bowl and whisk in eggs, butter, and milk until combined. Whisk flour mixture into egg mixture until just moistened and no streaks of flour remain. Set batter aside 30 minutes to thicken.
• 4. Pulse cranberries, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and confectioners’ sugar in food processor until very coarsely chopped, 4 to 5 pulses. Using rubber spatula, fold cranberries into batter. Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups, slightly mounding in middle. Evenly sprinkle streusel topping over muffins, gently pressing into batter to adhere. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 18 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin on wire rack, 10 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

TECHNIQUE

• RAMPING UP NUTTINESS, TONING DOWN TANG

  
  MAKE NUT FLOUR Instead of chopped nuts, we incorporate homemade toasted pecan “flour” into the batter, which lends the muffins richer, heartier flavor. 
• 
  CHOP CRANBERRIES WITH SUGAR—AND SALT Processing the berries with confectioners’ sugar sweetens them; a dash of salt masks their bitter edge.
• 
  TOP WITH STREUSEL A classic nut streusel sprinkled over the top of the muffins adds rich buttery crunch and just a hint of sweetness.

TECHNIQUE

• THICKENING THIN BATTER

  We thought a lack of gluten was causing our nut flour-base muffin batter to be thin and runny, leading to muffins that baked up flat. But when we accidentally let the batter rest briefly—a fluke occurrence when we walked away for 30 minutes—the batter thickened and the muffins baked up nice and tall. Could the rest be what improved the muffins' structure? We prepared another batch, this time deliberately letting the batter rest for 30 minutes before baking, and compared the results with muffins we baked right away. Once again, the rested batter thickened considerably and produced muffins with nicely domed tops, while the unrested batter was thin and created predictably flat muffins that spread across the tin.
  After a chat with our science editor, we understood why: As batter rests, a small amount of gluten develops, providing structure. But the main effect is that water more fully hydrates the starches, causeing them to swell. This swelling thickens the batter and helps prevent it from spreading during baking.
• 
  JUST MIXED
• 
  AFTER 30 MINUTES—SHAZAM!

Sister's Apple Crisp

This recipe is from one of my dearest friend's mama from my well-worn copy of "The Friendship Collection" created for the members of University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast Elderhostels. Wanda passed recently, but she'll live on as long as I do, through her generosity of spirit, her love and her recipes! This one is her Sister Frances' Apple Crisp. I do use it with fresh apples but I also have used it successfully for a decade with frozen fruits too. Straight from the bag without defrosting. I just throw them in frozen and it works BEAUtifully.  Another good'un is to use this mixture and these spices and chop up some crystallized ginger in to them and place that over BlueBerries for a nice refreshing bite in your mouth.

The greatest thing about this recipe is you can throw dinner on the table, pop this in the oven and it'll be ready by the time you're done.

SISTER'S APPLE CRISP

by Wanda Jackson, God rest her soul

"Peel and slice apples to fill an 8 inch square pan. Sprinkle the following mixture over apples and bake at 400 for about 30-40 minutes.  Blend in to a crumble mixture and spread over apples. Serve warm.

NOTE:  My nephew, Billy, is an apple grower in North Carolina and very generously shares his delicious harvest with his Mississippi kin, so we get to try many apple recipes.

3/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 stick "oleo" (i use butter, please note below)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
(I use 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice and a 1/4 teaspoon of cloves, but that's just me)"

Now, I got this recipe from my bestest friend, her son Jay, and I tried to make this, unsuccessfully, for years. I don't know if you know about this, but there's a Southern viciousness that you either leave an ingredient out or you don't tell quite the whole truth when you pass on a recipe. I tried everything I knew to do with that stick of butter. I made that crumble mixture with it, I melted it and poured it over the top ... I begged Jay once to watch me make it once and h e LAUGHED and laughed. What's meant to happen is, you mix all that mess together WITHOUT the butter, you spoon that mixture all over the top of the fruit, and then you SLICE-uh the butter in to pats and place them all over the top of the pan.

You may want to cut the sweetness of this recipe by serving it over French Vanilla Ice Cream.

Say a little prayer for Wanda and her family every time you enjoy it. Please.