I have never been a big fan of pumpkin sweets.  The Cranberry Chocolate Pecan Pumpkin Bread I made for Tuesdays with Dorie had me thinking about making pumpkin muffins with cranberries.  I loved the way the cranberries in the bread popped open when you bit into them.  I thought that would be a fun taste to have in a muffin.

I did some online searching for pumpkin recipes and then adjusted it to my taste.  I made the recipe 4 times in 2 weeks.  I tried different sugars and spices.  They were all good variations, but below is the best one.  The muffin has good flavor, and the cranberries add color and tartness.  They stay moist for days when stored in airtight container.  But it is best to eat them on day two when the flavors have melded.

I love that there is not a lot of oil or sugar in this recipe.  I felt comfortable giving these to my kids for breakfast and snacks.  They loved them.

So here is the recipe.  If you make it, let me know what you think.

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup sunflower oil (or other neutral oil)

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1 ½ cups fresh cranberries, washed and dried

sparkling sugar

*****

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease and flour 12 cup muffin pan or use paper liners.

Mix sugar, oil, eggs in a large bowl. Add pumpkin and buttermilk. In a separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt, with a whisk.  Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir in cranberries.

Fill muffin cups evenly full with batter.  Sprinkle with sparkling sugar.  Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.  Remove muffins from pan and cool on rack.