Spiced Citrus Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

These muffins have all of the "traditional" thanksgiving flavors, with the addition of one very non-traditional flavor - Chile! With the year-round availability of canned pumpkin and frozen cranberries these can be made at any time of year. As with all of my recipes calling for any Habanero chiles, you can substitute any other type of chile - although the flavor profile might be changed slightly, it should still be good. From http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/chilejuice.asp.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3  teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
• 1⁄2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 2  eggs
• 1  cup pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin)
• 1⁄2 cup milk
• 1  tablespoon habanero, juiced or dried and crushed
• 2  teaspoons  citrus zest
• 1⁄2 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen, cut in half

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
3. In another large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the pumpkin and mix well.
4. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the mixture and combine well. Add half of the milk and mix. Then add another third of the dry ingredients, and then the remainder of the milk, and the zest, along with the chile juice if using, and finish with the remainder of the dry ingredients.
5. Lightly oil a muffin pan and fill two-thirds full with the batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
6. Cool the muffins on a rack before removing and serve warm or at room temperature.