Orange-Cranberry-Rosemary Muffins

Rosemary isn't the first ingredient you'd think of to put in muffins, right? Well, in this recipe, the fresh herb adds a little tang and zest without becoming too pine-y or overwhelming. It's a delicious addition.

I came across this recipe a few years ago when I was writing the herb section of my book
The Complete Guide to Food Preservation. When I started writing my next book, The Complete Guide to Growing Windowsill Plants, I put a pot of rosemary on a sunny windowsill. The next winter it was huge and bursting with pale lavender flowers that lasted until May.

Now that rosemary plant is a bush near a sunny window in my kitchen, and I can't use the branches fast enough to keep it decently trimmed. Rosemary is a wonderfully hardy houseplant for a sunny location; it handles neglect and drought well, and smells lovely every time you brush up against it.

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup orange juice
½ cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (can substitute dried)
1 cup dried cranberries, lightly chopped
2 tbsp orange zest, divided
3 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a smaller bowl, mix the egg, orange juice, milk, and melted butter until combined.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, until just combined. Fold in the rosemary, cranberries, and 1 tbsp of orange zest.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups, nearly to the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and the last tbsp of orange zest, and use this to frost the tops of the muffins as they cool.

Makes 12 muffins.