Cranberry- Orange Muffins

Ok, so I tried another cranberry muffin recipe. These actually taste better than they look, and they're certainly better than the cranberry oatmeal muffins. I found the recipe at http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/11/06/cranberry-orange-muffins/. They aren't a muffin I'd want to eat every day. They're sort of like wine. Maybe the first couple of sips aren't so great, but it definitely improves as you drink more. The acidity of the orange zest and juice does mellow the tartness of the cranberries. But there was an instance where I thought I was eating a cranberry relish muffin.

This recipe verges on what I call "fussiness." I'm not a fan of fussy cooking. Ok, I'll do some crazy things if it's worth the effort, but I think too many cooks feel that cooking is some sort of alchemy that you have to mix just the right combination of this exotic herb and that spice. Our pallets are not that refined. I don't care who you are. What makes this recipe a tad fussy is the zesting and juicing of the oranges, and the detailed description of the creaming the butter and sugar. Come on, this isn't War and Peace! And then, in the long run, I felt the oven setting was too high for the delicate dough. I don't know if the picture shows it that well, but the bottom half of the muffin is much too dark, but I'm happy to say that they weren't too dry. I think it would have been better at a lower setting and longer cook time. I doubt I'll make these muffins again. I may give up on cranberries for a while, but I am very fond of them. For now, my favorite muffin is still the carrot-raisin-apple-nut muffin.