Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Muffins

I feel like I should just start out by saying that these muffins + a peppermint white chocolate mocha = holiday breakfast perfection.  Even here in Cali, where it's really not all that cold and snow is nowhere in sight, having this combo for breakfast makes me feel all warm and cozy inside. I absolutely looooovvvveee this time of year, so any way to make it more holiday-y is my kind of thing. (I say this as I sit in my living room with a glowing Christmas tree to my right and Mannheim Steamroller playing Christmas songs in the background. I really ♡ Christmastime.)

this recipe

Another thing I love is the combination of cranberries and chocolate - chocolate of any sort. A couple Decembers ago I made these Chocolate Cranberry Sweet Rolls, which are one of the few things I continue to make year after year because they've always been such a huge hit. I've also made a few different chocolate barks with dried cranberries that I can never get enough of, which just goes to say that this combo TOTALLY works. And as much as I love dark chocolate with all my heart (because really, it will forever be the best kind of chocolate), sweet and creamy white chocolate is another perfect match for those tangy-sweet dried cranberries, and one that just screams Christmas to me.

I first made these muffins a couple years ago, but thanks to my sometimes unorganized self, they got lost in the constant shuffle of recipes I deal with and decided not to make an appearance until now. That being said, they totally should have been shared way back when because they've won over everyone who's tried them - even the ones who say they don't like white chocolate at all. I swear, there's something about mixing tart with sweet that makes the cranberries and white chocolate work in perfect harmony here in these light, fluffy muffins.  That's why we make them bakery-style - as big as they can get. Any smaller would be borderline criminal. ;)

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Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Muffins

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These light and tender bakery-style muffins are loaded with tangy dried cranberries and creamy white chocolate chips for a sweet take on breakfast - perfect for the holidays!

• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 12 muffins 1x

Ingredients

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• 10 ⅝ ounces (2 ½ cups, spoon and level) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 4 ⅝ ounces (⅔ cup) granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 10 ounces (1 ¼ cups) greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 ounces (1 cup) white chocolate chips, plus extra for tops
• 4 ¼ ounces (1 cup) dried cranberries*, plus extra for tops
• sparkling sugar, optional

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.**
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a bowl and handheld electric mixer), cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth and light. Wiping down the bowl and beater as needed, beat in the eggs one at a time until well-incorporated. Beat in the yogurt and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix in on lowest speed until mostly incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and dried cranberries and fold into batter just until all ingredients are evenly combined; be careful not to overmix.
5. Divide batter between prepared muffin cups. Top each with a few extra white chocolate chips and dried cranberries (if desired) and smooth out tops briefly if needed. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar, if using.
6. Bake, immediately reducing oven temperature to 350ºF, for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean and the muffins are golden on top.
7. Cool in pan briefly, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

*I use sweetened dried cranberries and they don't make the muffins overly sweet, but feel free to use ones with no sugar added if you prefer.

**There's too much batter to use muffin liners with this recipe if making 12 muffins. If you're really set on using them and you have more than one muffin pan, you can divide the batter further and make a few extra muffins so you don't overfill each cup.

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