tart cranberry-orange muffins

 

Yes, people. I am well aware that I have an obsession with muffins. I guess I could make more loaves or scones, but I just like the neatness of a muffin. It's like a snack-sized little treat that's ready when you are. Plus, they're kinda cute.

I've actually made these muffins before, but they were too sweet the first time around for me. A bag of fresh cranberries in my organic produce box led to another attempt, this time with less sugar. Bingo - we have a winner. These are tart and citrusy, rather than sugary and sticky. But the crunch of raw sugar on top makes it feel like a sweet treat, even though it's packed with whole-wheat flour, antioxidant-rich fruits and heart-healthy oil. Good stuff can come in pretty packages!

Tart Cranberry-Orange Muffins

• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup sugar (I used unprocessed cane sugar)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons grated orange rind
• 3/4 cup orange juice (about one large orange)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1 tbsp raw sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.Combine flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
3. Combine rind, juice, oil, vanilla, and egg in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in cranberries and walnuts.
4. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with raw sugar. Bake at 400° for ~18 minutes or until the muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Run a knife or spatula around outer edge of each muffin cup. Carefully remove each muffin; place on a wire rack.

Wanna see my other muffin obsessions? Check them out here:

• Banana-crumb nut muffins
• Carrot cake muffins
• Banana-coconut muffins
• Apple-cinnamon muffins

banana-nut crumb muffins

A friend at work brought these babies in to share and I fell in love with them pretty much immediately (I actually ate it on the elevator between two floors ... yeah ... ). One morning this past weekend, two browning bananas were calling my name and I was kicking myself for not having asked her which recipe she used. A quick search gave me the one below, but I quickly modified it to make it heathier. Just as good, but with lots of extra goodies baked inside. Score!

Banana-Nut Crumb Muffins
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or half whole wheat, half all-purpose)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 c ground flax
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed (supplement apple sauce if you're short)
• 3/4 cup white sugar or sucanat (dried cane sugar - a minimally processed, natural sweetener)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/8 c chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and canola. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon and canola. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. 

carrot cake muffins for breakfast (or anytime)

Ok, so with a name like Carrot Cake Muffins, I bet you're thinking that these are super unhealthy, right? Think again. These orange-crowned little beauties are stuffed with whole wheat flour, flax, walnuts, shredded carrots and crushed pineapple, cinnamon and heart-healthy canola oil. It really is a breakfast of champions, especially because it's not too sweet. A good source of fiber, healthy fats and antioxidants, I topped mine with a dollop of my sister-in-law's homemade fig jam. Delish.

Carrot Cake Muffins
Makes 12
I think I might have made these up ... or it's a recipe that I modified a long time ago.

Ingredients

• 3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c whole-wheat pastry flour
• 2/3 c dark brown sugar
• 2-3 tbsp ground flax seed
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 c canola oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 4-5 medium carrots, shredded (2 cups)
• 8 oz can crushed pineapple in its own juice, drained

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Line 12 muffin tins with liners.
2. Whisk flours, brown sugar, flax, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and vanilla. Quickly and lightly fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a rubber spatula. (The batter will be very thick and will seem dry at this point.) Fold in carrots, pineapple and walnuts. (The batter will become wetter at this point, but will still be thick.) Add to muffin tins.
3. Bake 25-30 minutes and remove from tin after 10 minutes out of the oven.

Need other healthy baked good ideas? Try these:

• Healthy, tasty banana bread
• Hearty cinnamon-raisin bread
• Whole-grain banana-coconut muffins that even coconut haters love
• The best zucchini bread in the world (seriously ... )
• Ugly little energy bars

whole-grain banana-coconut muffins that even coconut haters love

One recent holiday, my in-laws were in town for a few days. I always like to cook for family that stays with us, and this was no exception. On Saturday morning, I had three ripe bananas just dying to be baked into something. Remembering this recipe that I clipped from the newspaper (of all places!), I whipped them up in no time. Before even realizing that they had coconut in them, my father-in-law took down three of them.

My brother-in-law and said father-in-law share the coconut-hating gene (the BIL calls toasted coconut "bones," because their crunchiness catches in the back of his throat like it would if you swallowed a bone, haha). Despite that fact, they both like these muffins. And you will, too. They make a great breakfast, and they freeze well. No muss, no fuss (whatever that means) and no waste. And wholesome to boot. Enjoy.


Banana-Coconut Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c flour (I use 1/2 whole-wheat pastry flour)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c coconut flakes
• 1 1/3 c mashed banana (~4 medium)
• 1/4 c buttermilk (or milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 c canola oil
• 3/4 c light brown sugar
• 1 egg

1. Heat oven to 350. Line the muffin tin with papers (or grease it).
2. In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Mix in coconut.* In another bowl, mix mashed bananas with vanilla and buttermilk.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the oil and sugars for two minutes. Add the egg. When incorporated, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the banana mixture in two parts, until just combined.
4. Fill 12 muffin cups evenly. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*Note: by mixing baking ingredients like coconut or fruit into the flour mixture you keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter during the baking process.