the times, they are changing {cranberry ricotta muffins}

This sumer was a doozy of high temperatures and little rain. It was only a few weeks ago that we could barely take the heat.

This was a summer for popsicles.

And then, in a matter of days, it cooled enough for the first fire of the season (the only fire until we can scrounge up some more firewood). And just like that, the summer was replaced with welcome warmth, tea, and coziness. This is my favorite season. I'd like it to go on for months and months. In fact, I'd skip winter entirely and just have an extended fall. Since that's not likely to happen, I am soaking it up while I can.

After our months of popsicles, I'd like to declare this the autumn of muffins. Specifically, these ones:

Cranberry Ricotta Muffins

I used some homemade ricotta cheese that was taking up space in the refrigerator, some frozen cranberries, and a good portion of whole wheat flour. They are light and moist with the ricotta, grainy and hearty with the whole grain, and the tartness of the cranberries is sweetened with the sprinkling of demarara cane sugar on top. They are good.

They would be fabulous with some chopped pecans added in, but then I'd be the only one in my family who would eat them. I don't need a dozen muffins to myself, so nut-free it is for us. But maybe you'd like them that way?

Cranberry Ricotta Muffins

3/4 cup ricotta, preferably at room temperature

2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 tablespoons oil

2/3 cup sugar (I used sucanat)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup cranberries (I used frozen, each berry sliced in half, but dried cranberries would work too)

2-4 tablespoons demarara cane sugar, or other sprinkling-sugar (regular granulated white sugar or turbinado are good choices)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-muffin tin with liners or oil with non-stick spray of choice.
2. Whisk the ricotta, eggs, vanilla, and oil together in a medium-size bowl (one of my favorite uses for the 4-cup pyrex measuring cup).
3. In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and and salt. Add cranberries, stirring to incorporate.
4. Add ricotta mixture to dry ingredients. Fold to combine, being careful not to overwork the dough. It should be a fairly thick batter, but not so thick that you can barely stir. I added several tablspoons of milk to make my batter the right consistency. It probably had more to do with my homemade ricotta being extra thick.
5. Divide the batter evenly in the muffin tin, sprinkle tops with sugar, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

These were scrumptious warm, but they still disappeared quickly once they had cooled to room temperature.