Joshua McFadden's Cream Cheese Carrot Cranberry Muffins

Ingredients

• ¹⁄₂ cup butter
• 2 ¹⁄₂ cup unbleached flour
• ¹⁄₂ cup brown sugar
• ³⁄₄ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• ¹⁄₂ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• ¹⁄₂ cup diced crystallized ginger (optional)
• 1 - 8 oz package cream cheese
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ¹⁄₂ - 2 T honey (buckwheat preferred)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F
2. Brown the butter in a pan. Once browned, use it to "grease" a 12-well muffin tin
3. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, vanilla, and honey. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, and olive oil
5. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix.
6. Fold in the carrots and cranberries.
7. Fill each muffin tin with about 3 T of batter, then top with a large spoonful of cream cheese mixture on the center. Sprinkle with some coarse white sugar
8. Bake, checking around the 18-22 mark with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, they are done. Cool on a rack and enjoy.