Lemon-Cranberry Muffins

Just before Thanksgiving, in a moment of weakness, I bought two bags of fresh cranberries without the slightest idea of what I was going to make with them.  I'm not a huge fan of cranberry sauce, but I've been on a berry kick lately and I figured they had to be good for something.  Right?  Anybody?

After wasting large amounts of time perusing my favorite recipe website, I decided to try combining this muffin recipe with this one.  The verdict?  You should make them, too.  They're amazing.  And if nothing else, they're the perfect way to use up that last half-bag of cranberries skulking in the fruit crisper.

(Yes, I know cranberries aren't in the co-op.  If you don't have any left over from Thanksgiving, Aldi had them for $.50 a bag on sale last time I looked; I think they're regularly $1.)

Lemon-Cranberry Muffins
Time:  30-45 minutes
Yield:  1 dozen

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ (or flour, either whole wheat or AP)
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped fresh cranberries (use a food processor if you have one)
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. grated lemon rind (you could also use orange rind)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 F. Combine flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Stir in cranberries; make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, butter, rind, vanilla, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter into 12 greased muffin cups. Bake at for 18 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pan immediately; place on a wire rack.