Cranberry and Pumpkin Spice Muffins — and a matching tea!

Karen in New York commented the other day that she likes to mix Harney's Cranberry Autumn Tea with their Cinnamon Spice Tea, and that is her go-to fall tea, of which she usually drinks at least a cup each day. I remembered her unique recipe when I was making some Cranberry and Pumpkin Spice Muffins this week, and it dawned on me, "What if I mixed cranberry- and pumpkin-flavored teas?"
And so I did! I feel a little sheepish about mixing two different brands, but the Cranberry Autumn is the only fall-flavored Harney tea I have at the moment, so I brewed one of those tea sachets along with one tea bag of Republic of Tea's Pumpkin Ginger Tea. The result was great, and I could taste the Cranberry Autumn Tea that is my favorite along with a little extra something from the Pumpkin Ginger Tea. Not every tea-blending experiment I've tried has turned out well, but this one did!

And if you like the combination of pumpkin and cranberries, you might like these muffins, which Mr. Tea With Friends deemed "excellent."


Cranberry and Pumpkin Spice Muffins
1/2 cup vegetable oil1 cup canned pumpkin1 cup granulated sugar1 large egg1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon baking soda2 teaspoons milk1/4 teaspoon each of ginger, allspice, and nutmeg (or more if you like)1 tablespoon cinnamon2 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt2 cups all-purpose flour1/2 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, combine first seven ingredients. In a smaller bowl, combine spices, baking powder, salt, and flour. Add flour mixture to liquid ingredients and stir just till combined. Fold in cranberries. Using an ice cream scoop, spoon a nice heaping of batter into each cupcake liner, about 3/4 full. Bake for 22-26 minutes, just until muffins feel firm on top. Yields 12 muffins.