Muffins are so fun to make, delicious to eat and convenient. You can pop them in your bag for a snack any time of day or as I like to do, put them in the freezer after they have cooled and defrost them when a guest is coming over for a coffee! With muffins in the freezer, you always have a fresh, homemade baked treat to enjoy with friends and family!
However, sometimes even just making a simple batch of muffins can lead to failure! I experimented with 2 creations this week: I tried to create a Halloween special, which I called “Pumpkin Spiced Halloween”, but couldn’t quite get it right. The first time I made them, they were not sweet enough and the second time, I corrected the sweetness deficiency by adding a little more maple syrup, and even some non-dairy chocolate chips, but they were just too soft. I know I made one mistake when mixing up the batter: I added the coconut oil without liquefying it first. This created multi-sized, solid clumps in the batter which were difficult to dissolve and thoroughly mixing the batter was difficult. Then, once they were baking, the coconut oil began to melt and created too much moistness for the flour to sustain and this caused them to be way too soft. So there you have it – Pumpkin Spiced Halloween Muffins: Fail! If you want to cook, you have to be prepared to fail sometimes! However, don’t worry, I will make a third attempt and when I get this one right, I will share it, hopefully in time for Halloween.
The other recipe I created worked out very well, so I will share the recipe with you today: Cranberry Orange Muffins. Sweetness from the oranges and a slight hint of bitter from the fresh cranberries creates a delightful balance and pure taste explosion in the mouth! Try them!
Cranberry Orange Muffins
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup raw agave nectar
Juice and zest from one orange
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour OR brown rice flour (gluten-free option)
4 teaspoons egg replacer
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ cup maple syrup
½ cup purified water
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. In a small pot, combine cranberries, salt, coconut oil and agave nectar. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add orange juice and zest. Allow to cool.
4. In a large bowl, combine all other ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. Once cranberry mixture has cooled, pour into batter and stir.
6. Line muffin pan with parchment muffin cups. Spoon in batter.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick test comes out dry.
8. Allow to cool before serving.
Enjoy, in joy and in health!
“Beethoven rewrote his Fifth Symphony 31 times; in fact, he rewrote everything he ever produced many, many times.” ~Jim Bagnola, Becoming A Professional Human Being
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