Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins

These are deluxe yummy perfection! The cake is tender and rich and the tart cranberries make a nice contrast. I think the batter would lend itself to some experimenting with other berries, especially tart ones like raspberries or black berries.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins
1 c. butter, softened
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Cream butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in cranberries and pecans. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 min. Cool 5 minutes in pan before removing to wire rack. Yield 2 dozen muffins.

Notes: Frozen cranberries go into the batter straight from the freezer, don't thaw them, just stir them in. Also, to freeze cranberries when they are in season, just take the bag of cranberries out of your grocery bag and place it right in the freezer. Use within a year. This recipe is from Taste of Home 2008.
Jenny