Cranberry Orange Muffins

On Monday, I was faced with the task of making muffins, something I do at least once if not twice a week!  I make muffins to pack in John's lunch so that he has a nice midmorning snack.  I also make muffins for the girls, who are both proving to really enjoy all things that fall into the category of bread - and who can blame them?!?

In the fall, I made a ton of Easy Pumpkin Muffins.  I also make my Double Chocolate Muffins quite a bit.  So I wanted to change it up!  I had just gone to the food store and happened to pick up several bags of dried cranberries (for a cookie recipe that I will be sharing with you at a later time) and I thought, well cranberry muffins would be good!  And festive!

So I did what I always do, I looked on Pinterest and found a few recipes.  Then, I combined the best parts of those recipes with my knowledge of muffins to create Cranberry Orange Whole Wheat Muffins!  They are delicious!  I made one batch on Monday afternoon (12 muffins) and only two remained today!

Here's What You Need to Make the Cranberry Orange Muffins:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp orange zest (about 2 medium sized oranges)
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about 2 medium sized oranges)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (you could also use veggie oil, canola oil, olive oil, or melted butter)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• course sugar for sprinkling the tops of the muffins

Now Let's Make the Cranberry Orange Muffins:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners (you can use cooking spray if you do not have liners)
2. In a bowl of hot water, soak the cup of dried cranberries to soften and plump them - set aside until needed 
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda
4. Whisk the orange zest into the dry mixture 
   
5. Add the orange juice, water, milk, oil, and egg to your dry ingredients.  Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined
6. Drain your cranberries and fold them into batter
7. Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin tin
8. Sprinkle course sugar over the top of each muffin
   
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes
10. Cool for about 5 minutes in pan before transferring to wire rack to cool completely

To be honest, I don't usually eat the muffins that I make <other than sharing a bite or two with Blakely> because I like to save them for John and the girls.  However, I have eaten two of these muffins and they are AMAZING!  They are loaded with cranberries, which is a great winter flavor!  I really think the trick of "plumping" the dried cranberries in the hot water is the key to great muffins!  FYI - I use that same trick with raisons if I am making cinnamon raison bread!  It's a great trick to try in your kitchen! 

Happy Muffin Making!