Spiced Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

These muffins have all the ingredients you would find in a traditional Thanksgiving meal with the exception of one the Pilgrims never heard of–chile! With the availability of frozen cranberries and canned pumpkin, you can enjoy these tasty muffins anytime of the year–you don’t need to wait until the fall.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• ½ cup vegetable shortening

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup canned pumpkin

• ½ cup milk

• 1 tablespoon habanero juice

• 2 teaspoons orange zest

• ½ cup cranberries, fresh or frozen, cut in half

Instructions

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.

Sift all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

In another large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the pumpkin and mix well.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the mixture and combine well. Add half of the milk and mix. Then add another third of the dry ingredients, and then the remainder of the milk, habanero, and the zest, and finish with the remainder of the dry ingredients.

Lightly oil a muffin pan and fill two-thirds full with the batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool the muffins on a rack before removing and serve them warm or at room temperature.