The flavours of these cranberry and pistachio vanilla muffins epitomise all things Christmas.
I made these muffins for the festivities and used traditional Christmas ingredients like cranberries and pistachios.
The muffins are so simple to prepare and tasted delicious. Made with sour cream, they are super soft and have a real muffin-top thing going on. This was intentional and I deliberately filled the cases almost to the top, but you could use less batter in each and stretch to 12 muffins.
The finishing touch was a vanilla drizzle and a sprinkling of dried cranberries.
- 60 g (1/4 cup) butter (room temperature)
- 120 ml (½ cup) sour cream
- 150 g sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (you could use essence or extract)
- 140 g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 25 g dried cranberries (chopped)
- 10 g pistachios (finely chopped)
- 100 g (1 cup) icing (confectioners') sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla sugar (or essence/extract)
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- Cranberries for sprinkling (optional)
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Pre-heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Prepare a muffin tin.
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Cream the butter and sugar, add in the sour cream and continue to cream until the mixture is light and fluffy.
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Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.
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In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar and baking soda. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until only just combined, then fold in the cranberries and pistachios.
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Spoon into cake cases or muffin tin and bake for around 20-23 minutes (they are ready when an inserted skewer comes out clean). Place on a wire rack and allow the muffins to cool completely before icing.
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For the frosting: Sift the icing sugar and vanilla sugar and add one tablespoon of milk. Gradually add more milk until the required drizzling consistency is reached. Drizzle over cooled cakes and sprinkle with chopped dried cranberries. Leave to set before eating. Enjoy!
