I've been willing to do a fair amount of tinkering with this recipe because I like the flavor combination so much. These are always very popular at the big breakfasts that I make. Adapted pretty freely from Colorado Collage, a cookbook from the Junior League of Denver, and from Sally's Baking Addiction.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with foil or paper cups (I prefer foil) or spritz the cups with cooking spray.
Use a hand mixer to beat together the sugar and butter, then add the eggs and beat, and then add the yogurt or sour cream, the milk, and the maple extract.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and add to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed just until incorporated.
Use a spatula to fold in the cranberries and nuts.
Bake for 5 minutes at 425, then turn down the heat to 350 without removing the muffins from the oven and bake for 10 minutes more. Test with a toothpick--they may need a minute or two longer.
Can be served warm or at room temp.
*If you're like me and tend to forget to take the butter out of the fridge (or worse yet, the freezer) ahead of time, you can microwave it for 2-3 minutes at 10% power. (That's power setting 1.) Be patient and don't use a higher setting, as you don't want melted butter!
**Toasted nuts always taste better (than untoasted ones). I keep walnuts, pecans and almonds in my freezer at all times. Easiest way to toast them is to measure them out onto a baking sheet and put them in the oven when you turn the oven on. They should be about right by the time the oven comes to temp, but you'd better set a timer for 10 minutes just in case you don't notice the beep the oven makes when it's hot. Remember, you're starting out this recipe at 425, so there's not much room for error.
*** I suppose you could use dried cranberries if you were out of fresh ones, but the dried cranberries are sweetened and so your muffins are going to have a different flavor profile. I would chop the dried ones if you use them.
****Although it's kind of fiddly, I do chop each cranberry in half, with the exception of the really tiny ones. In theory you can chop them in the food processor, especially if they're frozen, but I've decided that the results are too uneven. Sally has you put the cranberries in whole, but that's too much cranberry in one bite. (You do keep several bags of cranberries in your freezer at all times, don't you? They don't sell them after the holidays, so if you miss out it's the dried ones or nothing until the next year.)