February is almost over??? When did this happen. I swear I open half of my blog posts like this, but time is really crazy. Like…spring is soon.
I’ve got some mixed feelings about this. For one thing, school is sort of kind of almost over. But that means that tests are coming up, and tests and I do not click. Also, one year of high school over means one year closer to college and worrying about my future. I have absolutely no clue what I want to do with my life and I cannot tell you how many times I have freaked out at like 2:00 AM and started looking at colleges.
Also, with spring coming up, that means summer is next. If you have been reading my blog, then you might know that I have some beef with summer. Don’t get me wrong, I love being off of school, sleeping in, and reading and baking all day. However. I hate the season itself. It gets SO HOT. And there’s so many bugs, and it’s loud and yucky. But my solution for this is to stay tucked in my cold room and kitchen and only leave the house to go to the grocery store.
I don’t have a problem guys.
But this spring break, I’m hoping to sell some of my baked goods to earn a little money. The hope is that the money can go towards re-doing my room because she’s halfway there and still a little sad looking. Also, I might get some new baking gadgets with the money and donate to some charities.
But as of right now it is still winter, and I have yet to have a big snow. We had one, and we missed a few days but I want a BIG snow. Oh well, fingers crossed.
Describe These Muffins to Me
Taste: Like a cozy winter muffin, perfect with coffee or tea. The base batter is sweet and buttery, with cozy spices, while the cranberries add a refreshing pop of tartness and the rosemary adds some earthy flavor. Plus, you’ve got a caramelized and buttery crumble right on top!
Texture: These muffins are unbelievably fluffy. You can see in the video how soft they are. And you’ve got some refreshing juiciness from the cranberries. If you know me, you know I’m going to add a little crunch. So these have a melt in your mouth rosemary oat crumble on top.
Ease: Like all good muffins should be, these are simple to make! The first step is to pulse together some sugar and fresh rosemary, which is pretty quick to do. Then the batter comes together in one bowl, no mixer required. Then the crumble is super quick and simple to toss together.
Rosemary
When I was developing this recipe, I knew I wanted to use fresh rosemary for some wintery flavors. But I was a little torn on how to do it because it’s no fun to bite into a muffin and have a giant piece of rosemary ruining it. The key is to create a rosemary sugar, by pulsing together fresh rosemary and sugar in a food processor. This breaks it down, as well as infusing the sugar with the flavorful oils found in rosemary. For the crumble, we use a little dried rosemary to add a warmness to it.
The Batter
This batter is pretty simple, and it has all the good stuff. We’ve got that rosemary sugar, mixed with some brown sugar, melted butter, and orange zest. I will admit that at this stage the batter will be a really ugly color, but have faith! Then we add some yogurt for moisture, and some eggs and vanilla. Then you’ve got some flour, some leaveners, and some spices. Thin it out with a little milk, and then fold in those cranberries. Throw that into some liners and boom.
The Crumble
I have to say, I can make a mean crumble. It’s so simple but SO tasty. All it is is melted butter, oats, flour, brown sugar, and dried rosemary. Stir that up and sprinkle it all over your muffins. When you bake it, the crumble will get a little caramelized and toasted which really adds to the wintery vibes.
Rosemary Cranberry Orange Muffins
Ingredients
Method
- Add the granulated sugar and rosemary to a food processor. Pulse until evenly combined. The sugar should look green, and there shouldn't be any big chunks of rosemary.
- Preheat the oven to 425℉. Line a 12 count muffin tin with liners. Then, line two cavities of a second sheet with liners. This recipe makes about 14-15 muffins.
- Pour the rosemary sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and melted butter. Whisk until smooth and combined. It may look a little split at first, but keep whisking, and it should come together. It will be a yucky color at this point, don't worry! Add the eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Whisk to combine. Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt, whisking until just combined. Stream in the milk and whisk until smooth. Finally, fold in the cranberries.
- Scoop the batter evenly into the liners, just to the top. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, toss together the melted butter, flour, oats, brown sugar, and crushed dried rosemary until it forms a crumbly texture. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the muffins. Bake for 5 minutes at 425℉, then turn the temperature down to 350℉, keeping the muffins in the oven, and bake for an additional 18-20 minutes or until the tops are beginning to brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pans for at least 15 minutes before enjoying warm or setting on a wire rack to cool completely. Muffins stay fresh sealed at room temperature for up to 4 days.