Cranberry Heroes

I remember that debate as a kid, whether it would be better to have your birthday really far from the holidays or close to Christmas. Some thought the double whammy constituted double the presents and some thought it meant one present double the size, or was it double the cost? Anyway, I celebrate my birthday halfway through the year; far from Christmas!

Within this very holiday season itself, there are so many things to celebrate. Funny thing is that several of my friends have their own personal day, right smack dab at this time. I wanted to honor my friends by preparing some special treats. One friend is studying to be a chef and seems to critique most dishes I make, so my goal was to do something she hadn’t tasted and isn’t familiar with, so that she would have nothing to compare it to!

Neither pumpkins nor cranberries are native to Peru. Pumpkins have been grown here as of late to placate the growing number of foreigners who just cannot make it through the season without their orange balls of glee. They are available just in the month of October and the prices are typically slashed come November since they assume the pumpkins are wanted only for carving. what they don’t know won’t hurt them, right?

Cranberries have made spot appearances here in Peru. One day, about 4 years ago, I was in a grocery store and saw cans of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce. The theory here is that if you see something that is imported that you like, buy it, and buy as much of it as you can. That way, you don’t miss out because next time it won’t be there and the shelf stockers see there is a demand and hopefully will stock some more later. Cranberry juice has been common, although at this moment you couldn’t find a $5 bottle to save your life. Dried cranberries, Craisins to be specific, have found their way into the dried fruit section for only $3 for the small, tiny bag.

I prefer fresh cranberries. I have a beautiful upside down cranberry cake that I adore making this time of year. It seems like the cranberries come out sort of jewel like. With different colors fruits, it may even look something like a stained glass. But alas, no fresh cranberries. No juice. No cans of cran goodness. So, I am limited to dried cranberries for the November Cupcake Hero Challenge, featuring cranberries, from Laurie at Quirky Cupcake!

Pumpkin Cranberry Cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 cup of rubia sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Autumn Spice Mixture
1 teaspoon orange peel powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup of Vanilla buttercream frosting
1 teaspoon of Autumn Spice Mixture
3/4 cup of finely chopped walnuts
dried cranberries for decoration

Combine flours, wheat germ, rubia sugar, baking powder, spice mixture, orange peel powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl; make a well in center of mixture. In a small bowl combine yogurt, pumpkin, oil, and egg; stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in cranberries. Spoon batter into 12 muffin tins which have been coated with cooking spray or cupcake holders. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Combine vanilla buttercream frosting with spice mixture. Frost, sprinkle with walnuts and decorate with cranberries. Makes 12. Adapted from Cooking Light.

Stay tuned for the other birthday creation I started yesterday…