Eggnog for Breakfast

I don't care for eggnog, but when I saw a recipe for Cranberry Eggnog Muffins in the December 2010 edition of Food Network Magazine, I was intrigued. While I don't care to drink eggnog - mostly because I can't get over drinking something that thick and feel that drinking eggs is just wrong - I thought that the consistency could work quite well in a batter.

The cranberry component is Craisins...soaked in rum. Can't go wrong with rum for breakfast, eh? The muffins also have a delicious streusel topping. It was crispy, crunchy, crumbly, and sweet and added a nice touch to the muffins.

I didn't take any pictures, but I've included one from Food Network's website. Here is the recipe - might be a great one to try for Christmas morning!


Cranberry Eggnog Muffins
from Food Network Magazine, December 2010

Ingredients

For the Muffins:
Cooking spray
1 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup rum or apple juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups eggnog
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

Directions
Prepare the muffins: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mist a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Warm the cranberries and rum in a small saucepan over medium heat, then remove from the heat and let steep 5 minutes. Drain.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl.

Whisk the butter, eggnog, eggs and vanilla in another bowl. Gently fold into the flour mixture. (The batter will be lumpy; do not overmix.) Fold in the cranberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Make the topping: Mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, salt and brown sugar in a bowl with your fingertips until it looks like wet sand. Sprinkle generously over the batter.

Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly in the pan, then carefully remove to a rack.