Earlier this week, I was invited to participate in the Baking with Spirit challenge hosted by Janine at Cake of the Week. The month of December is all about baking something Christmas related. And what could be more Christmas related than eggnog? Since I’ve been obsessed baking with eggnog lately, I thought it would be a fun challenge to take part in.
These Cranraisin Eggnog Muffins are rich and delicious. The crumb topping, the boozy cranberries and raisins are the best part, in my opinion. Nothing better than biting into those plump, juicy cranraisins soaked with brandy. Then you have the sugary, crunchy, sweet topping giving this muffin a really
lovely texture.
So bake yourself some of these muffins on Christmas morning and be sure to visit Cake of the Week for some delectable homemade baked goodness.
Ingredients:
Muffins:
- 3/4 cup of dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup of golden raisins, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup of brandy
- 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup of brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 eggs, room temperature and slightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon of homemade vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups of eggnog
Crumb Topping:
- 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups of dark muscovado sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
* this rendered a lot of crumb topping so feel free to scale it back.
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking cups in the muffin pan.
In a small sauce pan add cranberries, raisins and brandy. Warm through over medium heat, about 5-7 minutes. The brandy should evaporate. Turn off heat and set it aside to cool.
Using a stand mixer (or mix by hand) add together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine.
In a separate medium bowl whisk together butter, eggs, vanilla extract and eggnog.
Pour the wet ingredient into the dry ingredients. Mix until moistened but don’t overmix. Batter will be lumpy. Fold in cranberries and raisins until combined. Spoon batter into the lined muffin cups.
Make the crumb topping: Mix flour, dark muscovado sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and butter in a medium bowl with your fingertips until it looks like wet sand. Sprinkle generously over the batter.
Bake for 16-20 minutes or until toothpick/tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool slightly in the pan before transferring them to the cooling rack.
Adapted from Food Network
uni homemaker 
Sounds yummy. Like your eggnog theme for the holidays.
Have a great holiday!
Thank you so much & happy holidays to you too! 🙂
These look amazing! Beautiful photograhy as always – I love the plaid tablecloth!
Thanks Lindsay! Those are actually kitchen towels.. hee hee.. 😀
Love the idea of the nutmeg in these goodies! You know, I actually caught myself looking at a cupcake tin or tray earlier today. All these posts on baked goodness really is changing my mind. I’m going to be the size of a semi-detached by Feb!
Nutmeg pairs beautifully with eggnog. I’m so glad you are actually considering baking! I can’t wait to see your post, if you do. You’ll style those muffins/cupcakes beautifully on your blog. I’m telling you –in order to stay non “semi-detached” you’ll have to give those goodies away and just keep a few for yourself. Plus, baked goods don’t taste as good after 4-5 days.
That’s one of the reasons for not making them (as in 4 – 5 days). And, although I’m lean enough I can be an absolute glutton!
I love crumb toppings, so I was won over even before the words cranberry, raisin and eggnog! The whole thing sounds incredible – this is definitely going on my list of things to bake. Thanks for entering Baking With Spirit!
Thanks so much for popping over to read the post. I’m so glad I took part in this challenge. It was fun and delicious too. 🙂
Looks delicious! I love the ingredients and your crumb topping. I especially like that you put 1/2 cup of brandy in it!!
Thanks Judy! These went quick! 🙂
Lovely idea Anne very original,and great compo on the pict!!!Top Done..compliment.
Thank you very much Massi! Always full of kind words. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I love a muffin with a crumb topping and this one is perfect for this time of year with the cranberries and eggnog, of course the brandy doesn’t hurt either. 😉
The brandy added extra flavor in the cranberries & raisins. It’s an absolute must when making this recipe. Of course the crumb toppings too. They are very festive for the holidays & they went in a flash!
I love a crumb=topped muffin and yours look delicious! Happy Holidays!
Thank you! And happy holidays to you too!
Loved the streusel topping, and the cranberries and raisins just burst with (brandy) flavor! One of my favorites so far…
Why thank you very much! 😉
Here you are again, adding eggnog to dough! not a surprise, so delicious! Thought I’d stop by to wish you happy holidays as well, i am going to try to turn off my laptop for a few days, let’s see if I can resist temptation 😉
Ciao Uni!
Thanks Giulia! Happy holidays to you too! Ciao! 😉
Thanks for stopping by the blog, Anne. I’ll be reading along with you 🙂
Thank you and yay! 🙂
Oh these sound perfect for Christmas morning! I have been on a real eggnog kick too!
Yes, they would be! Happy holidays Barb! 🙂
Oh that looks absolutely delicious! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! 🙂
Thank you very much! Happy holidays to you as well and thanks for popping over. 🙂
You know I still have never tried eggnog. It scares me. But maybe this is a good way of trying eggnog for the first time 🙂 Merry Christmas, Anne!!
Ooooh, then you gotta at least try it in baked goods. They are awesome! I also like them in lattes during the holidays –yum! Merry Christmas to you too Angelina! 🙂