Cranberry orange muffins

Preheat the oven to 400.

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk, sifting the flour if it is lumpy, so the leavening and salt are evenly distributed.

In a medium bowl put the sugar and the orange zest; rub together with clean hands until orange and like wet sand, so the abrasive sugar presses the oils out of the zest.

Juice the zested orange, removing seeds.

Transfer the sugar to a larger bowl and add the oil, milk, eggs, orange juice and vanilla; whisk.

Pour the wet into the dry and stir gently with a spatula until a few streaks of flour remain; overmixing activates the gluten and makes them denser and chewier.

Add the cranberries and stir gently to distribute, scraping the bottom of the bowl so no streaks of flour remain.

Line a muffin pan with papers and divide the batter evenly among 12.

variation: finish with a sprinkling of sanding sugar, a streusel topping, or an orange cranberry glaze of orange juice, vanilla, powdered sugar and maybe a tablespoon of melted butter.

Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes, until puffed and golden.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge 3 to 5 days, reheating about 20 seconds at half power in the microwave; or freeze up to two months.