Crazy for Cranberries

Now that Halloween has passed, it's time to think about what’s next… Thanksgiving. I absolutely love how crazy/fun the holiday season is. There always are back to back events with wonderful family and friends and lots of great food & desserts. Thanksgiving and fall in general, make me think of some of my favorite foods: cranberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and apples!

 

Speaking of cranberries, I just finished baking cranberry muffins. This often overlooked fruit is actually loaded with antioxidants. Here is the muffin recipe I used:

 

Cranberry-Orange Oat Muffins 

Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup oats (I used old fashioned)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

                   1/2 cup chopped fresh cranberries

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup orange juice
2 large eggs

                   1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine flour and all ingredients through nutmeg in a large bowl, stir with a whisk. Add the chopped cranberries. Make a well in center of the mixture.
In a separate bowl mix the sugar, oil, juice, and eggs. Stir this mixture into the dry mixture, just until the ingredients are combined. Coat muffin pans with cooking spray, spoon in batter and sprinkle tops with turbinado sugar. Bake for 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

These muffins are best served warm!