Lemon-Cranberry Muffins

I think one of my favorite flavours has got to be lemon. I love lemon meringue pie and pretty well anything with lemon curd in it. It's no surprise that my favorite muffins are lemon-cranberry muffins. It's not just the lemons that make these muffins so tasty though; lemons are a perfect match for fresh cranberries.

Here is the recipe that I always use (courtesy of Eating Well - January/February 2011):

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup Ontario canola oil
• 1 large Ontario egg
• 3 tsp freshly grated lemon zest (from who-knows-where)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Ontario flour
• 1/2 cup Ontario cornmeal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen Ontario cranberries

Preheat oven to 400F

Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, yogurt, oil, egg, 2 tsp lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla in medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the yogurt mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in cranberries.

Divid the batter into the muffin cups. Combine the remaining 2 tbsp sugar and remaining 1 tsp lemon zest in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the tops of the muffins. Bake the muffins until golden brown - 20 - 25 minutes.