Cranberry Orange Whole Grain Muffin

These were a yummy use of the cranberries I bought at the store the other day. With whole grains and berries, you can’t go wrong with this healthy breakfast or snack. I washed, dried and froze the fresh berries ahead of time. But, you can use dried or fresh. In some reviews, I have seen people run their old fashioned oats through the food processor to get the “quick cooking oats” without having to go out and buy another kind. As usual, I substituted unsweetened applesauce for oil/butter which yielded a very tasty muffin.

Cranberry Orange Whole Grain Muffin
yield 12 muffins

1 and 1/2 cups (6 oz.) whole wheat flour
3/4 cups (2 5/8 oz.) quick cooking oats
1/4 cup (1.75 oz.) buttermilk powder or nonfat dry milk
2/3 cup (4 5/8 oz.) sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup (2 oz.) pecans or walnuts (optional)
1 Tb. orange zest
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (6 oz.) milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter (or unsweetened applesauce)

Glaze (Optional)
2 Tb. orange juice with 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease the muffin pan with baker’s joy, cooking spray or use liners.
3. Mix up the dry stuff in a great big bowl: whole wheat flour, oats, dry milk, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. Toss the cranberries and nuts into the dry mix.
5. In another medium bowl mix the wet stuff: zest, eggs, milk and oil (or butter or applesauce).
6. Add wet stuff to dry stuff and mix until combined. If you see a little flour, then that is okay! Just make sure not to overmix.
7. Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. I used a large cookie scoop.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool inside the pan for 5-10 minutes. Then turn them over on a wire rack to cool some more.

9. Glaze: Just mix and drizzle over cooled muffins. Also very tasty on the Vegan Tangerine Cupcakes I made last year.