While we do all start to freak out in Maine as autumn dwindles, since we’re all smelling snow in the air and our snowblowers are taunting us from their shed homes, the season does have advantages for baking. Because who would make pumpkin pie in July? It wouldn’t be right at all. Likewise, cranberries.

Eli and I made the cranberry muffins from The Ultimate Muffin Book (the only cookbook I use for muffins, and highly recommended). It’s a great recipe, with cornmeal, sour cream, orange zest, and orange marmalade (lesson of the day: it’s not easy to zest a clementine). The only bummer is that the batter is pink but the muffins are brown.

Eli stirs the batter.

You can't see the cranberries because they're all chopped up, which means you get cranberry in every bite.