Recipes

The zing of cranberries and the hearty crunch of walnuts are a classic New England combination. These muffins are excellent warmed for breakfast.

This is the ne plus ultra of blueberry muffins, the imaginary blue ribbon winner at the state fair, the top of the blueberry muffin heap. Based on a "famous department store" recipe (remember the Famous Department Store Chocolate Chip Cookies?), this recipe produces meltingly tender muffins, chock-full of berries and gilded with a light cinnamon-sugar topping.

These muffins are big, high-crowned affairs that seem to explode right out of the muffin cup. We make them here with peaches, but they're also delightful made with blueberries, blackberries or raspberries.

These dark, moist muffins will keep well for several days. You don't even need to heat them up to enjoy them, which makes them a perfect after-school snack. The brown sugar sprinkled on top adds a crunchy touch, for all you muffin top lovers out there.

Sounds like an odd combination, but wait till you try it.