Cranberry-Almond Muffins

I am still on a cranberry kick. I just cannot let go of the season even though it is over. Sadly the fresh cranberries have left the grocery store. I have been unable to locate frozen cranberries. Anyone know where I can find some? I suppose I should make a visit to Whole Foods to see what is in their freezers.. My cranberry obsession has been fueled by some of the blogs I follow and then left to my own devices I search the Internet. Not to mention I purchased a Cranberry Orange muffin at the Ingles bakery (Red Velvet is good too) and shared it with my mom. Yes, I'm an only child and wanted muffins of my very own.

 

I spotted this recipe on Whole Living. It was simple. The hardest part was zesting and juicing the orange. If you are not one of these New Year's resolution people who signed up for a gym membership, then this recipe will help build you upper body strength. Just kidding. Can you tell I am ready to get my gym back? Big class sizes make it difficult to workout. Anyway, back to the recipe. I substituted dried cranberries since fresh and frozen were not an option. I would imagine it would be better with fresh or frozen but dried cranberries did the trick too. The almond flour is lovely in this recipe and the extra almonds on top provide a nice crunch. I baked these on the night before the coldest day we have had in thirty years in the ATL. It was a great way to heat up my home and the smell was fabulous too!

Cranberry-Almond Muffins

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Yield Makes 16

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Coarse salt
• 2/3 cup nonfat milk
• 2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 16 cups of
   two 12-cup muffin tins with baking cups,
   and lightly coat each with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together sugar, flours, baking soda,
   and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk
   together milk, yogurt, eggs, and orange zest
   and juice in a medium bowl. Fold milk
   mixture into flour mixture, then gently fold
   in cranberries until combined.
3. Spoon batter into baking cups until each
   is three-quarters full. Sprinkle with almonds.
   Bake until a toothpick inserted into the
   center of each comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
   Transfer pans to wire racks, and let
   cool for 10 minutes. Turn out muffins onto
   racks, and let cool completely.