Cranberry Orange Muffins (Treats For Co-Irkers)

For someone who is not all that fond of cranberries (or so I thought,) I've been doing quite a bit of experimenting with them lately. As it turns out, I'd just never eaten them in a recipe where their flavor was complemented with other flavors that I do like.

Last fall when cranberries were plentiful in the produce department, I bought several bags and tossed them into the freezer, determined to come up with a recipe that would be both healthy and delicious. This muffin recipe is a result of my inner mind madness and is a great way to enjoy the healthy benefits of both whole grains and cranberries. The topping and glaze are optional, but I found that the additional sweetness really complemented the tartness of the cranberries.

Whole Grain Cranberry Orange Muffins

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup Splenda (or 1 cup sugar)
1 large egg
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 TBSP orange zest
1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 12-count muffin tin with muffin papers and spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add cranberries and toss to coat.

In separate bowl whisk together the Splenda or sugar, egg, orange juice, zest, yogurt, oil and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Do not over mix.

Divide batter among muffin cups. Top with a heaping teaspoon of topping (below) if desired. Bake for 19-21 minutes. Remove muffins from oven and allow to sit in pan for a minute or two before removing from pan to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Top with glaze if desired. I just combined a cup of powdered sugar with a few teaspoons of water until I had the consistency of a glaze that would easily drizzle off a spoon.

Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons soft butter

Combine topping ingredients until crumbly. This makes a big batch of topping. You won't need anywhere near all of it. I always keep a baggie of this in my freezer, ready made.