A Tale of Two Muffins: Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for three of the most important things life can offer: family, friends and food. When I gather at the dinner table, I’m thankful for the great cooks in my family and the recipes that have been handed down for generations. Two recipes particularly stick out to me, cranberry orange nut muffins and pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Since it may be a bit redundant to have two of the same food categories at the dinner table, I’ve decided to compare and review the two recipes to ultimately see which takes the cake—er, muffin. Let’s begin!

Cranberry Orange Nut Muffins

For us Wisconsinites, cranberry muffins should really hit home. According to Statista, Wisconsin is the largest cranberry producer in the United States. These muffins can be enjoyed as a breakfast treat or for dessert after a nice lunch or dinner, made even better if they’re hot out of the oven. This muffin recipe is great because it’s not too sweet or heavy, meaning even the dessert skeptic in your life can enjoy them. If cranberry sauce is a controversial choice at your Thanksgiving dinner, then these might want to be avoided as their key ingredient is those little red berries. However, if cranberry sauce is the majority’s favorite, then bake these, and add some orange zest to jazz it up. This recipe has been handed down in my family, and if you like it, maybe you can start a new tradition.

See the recipe below. (SOURCE: Jakubowski Recipe Archive)

Cranberry Orange Nut Muffins

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup sugar

¼ cup butter, softened

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking power

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup milk

½ cup chopped walnuts

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

Grated orange peel from one orange

1/8 cup sugar (for sprinkling)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Put 24 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix sugar and butter together until completely blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Grate orange peel into ½ cup of milk.
5. Add flour mixture alternately with milk to butter mixture.
6. Stir in nuts and cranberries.
7. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yes, the muffin name itself is a mouthful, but your mouth will be watering the moment these come out of the oven. Much like cranberry nut muffins, these can be enjoyed for breakfast or after lunch and dinner. However, these muffins are more filling than cranberry muffins, so make sure to save room for dessert after your Thanksgiving meal. These muffins aren’t necessarily sweeter than cranberry muffins, but they definitely seem like a more traditional dessert muffin if anything. If you want to break out of the traditional ‘Costco Pumpkin Pie’ and make something unique for dessert, go for these. Adding chocolate chips to the cream cheese filling makes them even more delightful, and the brown sugar streusel is just the cherry on top. If you love dessert like me, then you’ll have no problem scarfing these down even after a giant Thanksgiving meal.

See the recipe below. (SOURCE: allrecipes.com)

Pumpkin cream cheese chocolate chip muffins

Ingredients:

For the cream cheese topping

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons brown sugar

½ cup mini chocolate chips

For the streusel

4 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons white sugar

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter

For the muffin

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin

1/3 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Put 18 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.
2. To make the filling: in a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla, and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, then stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.
3. For the streusel topping: in a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.
4. For the muffin batter: in a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, canola oil and vanilla. Beat together until smooth.
5. Place pumpkin mixture in the muffin cups about ½ cup full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

The Verdict

So, which muffin should you go for on Thanksgiving Day?

The answer is most definitely both!

Don’t want two muffins for a Thanksgiving meal? Here’s what to do:

First, eat the cranberry muffins for breakfast. This will be a light meal, and you can really prepare for the big meal coming later that day.

Then, after the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce and whatever else your family makes, have the pumpkin muffins for dessert. Instead of pie, bake these for something unique. Variety is the spice of life, right? Either way, both muffins are simply delightful and surprisingly simple to make. This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for being able to spend time with my family after COVID canceled our plans last year—and I’m thankful I can make both muffins for them to enjoy.