While I was visiting my grandma last week, she pulled out a few recipes she wanted us to make so I could try them.
This one was really delicious and filled the house with the most warm and comforting aroma.
Now, I know its not fall. Or Christmas-time. Yet. But hear me out! This Cranberry-Orange Oat Muffin is an anytime-muffin!
It’s not loaded down with spicy flavors like nutmeg, ginger, allspice or mace like most of our late-year goodies are. It’s actually really light and sweet, flavored with orange, cinnamon and honey.
And because you can get cans of cranberry sauce all year long, there’s no excuse to stash it away and save it. Right? Right (I know I’m right).
This muffin is perfect dunked in a cup of coffee or warmed up next to your favorite cup of tea. And because it is only sweetened with honey (deriving the rest of its sweetness from the cranberries), filled with oats and fresh orange juice, it makes a perfect breakfast (I can make anything sound like a perfect breakfast, so just go with me on this one).
The original recipe was for a dense holiday bread. But baking it in muffin tins makes it more portable and easier to serve. My grandma also tweaked the original recipe, changing up the flour and oats to what sounded right to her. They turned out perfect. They still maintain a bit of stickiness on top from the honey, so no crumble topping or drizzle is needed.
- ¾ cup honey
- 1/3 cup oil (canola)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 Tbs. orange zest
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 2 cups flour (1 cup whole wheat, 1 cup all purpose)
- 2 ½ cups old fashioned oats
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 can whole cranberry sauce
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray your muffin tins with nonstick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the honey, oil and eggs. Whisk well until blended. Then, add the orange juice, zest, salt and cinnamon. Whisk together. Finally, add the rest of the ingredients (you can reserve some of the dried cranberries to place on top of the muffins if you’d like) and stir until completely combined.
- Divide the muffin batter evenly in your muffin tins (there should be enough left for 2-4 more muffins for a separate tin). If you reserved any cranberries to place on top, do that now (press them into the batter slightly so they don’t pop off while baking).
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a test stick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire wrack before serving. Enjoy!
those look like they should be in a bakery! or my belly…. #justsaying
Linz @ Itz Linz recently posted…Vanilla Coconut Protein Smoothie
LOL at LINZ.
in OUR BELLIES.
Who needs holidays to justify good eats! 🙂
Oh girl those muffins look and sound amazing! I’ll have to add this to my list of treats to try 🙂
I love dried cranberries in baking, and well in everything really 🙂
These look good.
Jan @ Sprouts n Squats recently posted…Honey Cinnamon Stewed Apples
Cranberries and orange…YUM!! And just like pumpkin, I am no discriminator when it comes to “fall” flavors…as long as it doesn’t cost me my unborn child (strawberries in the dead of winter!) 😉 And muffins…oh yeah, I could LIVE off of muffins! Why don’t I make them more often?!
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