Cranberry Walnut Applesauce Muffins

Making good food for my family brings me this sense of satisfaction that nothing else quite can. I felt that satisfaction after making these muffins. They are hearty, moist, and super tasty! And the fact that they have applesauce in them makes me even more happy. The applesauce allows the muffins to retain their moistness, without eggs or a large amount of oil. The recipe does call for oil, but you could experiment with all applesauce (just substitute on a 1 to 1 ratio: 1/2 a cup of applesauce to 1/2 cup oil, etc.).

I originally made these with dried cranberries and fresh pears, and they were delicious. The next time I made them, I added ground English walnuts instead.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tb. ground flax seed mixed with 6 Tbs. water

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/3 cups applesauce

1/2 cup cooking oil (or increase the amount of applesauce by 1/2 cup)

2/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup ground walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners, or spray lightly with cooking spray. You may not use all the liners, but be prepared just in case.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, baking powder, cinnamon, soda and salt. In a separate bowl, combine flax seed mixture, brown sugar, applesauce and oil (if using). Add wet ingredients to dry, and fold and stir gently to combine well. Mix in cranberries and walnuts.

Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling about 2/3 full. I used a large ice cream scoop and one scoop was a perfect fit. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown or a toothpick or skewer inserted into a muffin emerges clean. Cool for 5 minutes, then remove from tins and serve warm.

My toddler son has requested these for breakfast the past two mornings in a row.

"Mommy, muffin." "Charlie, would you like a muffin?" "Yes, pease." "Ok, baby, you can have a muffin!" (Smiling on the inside, because I know he's getting the good stuff.)

Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Bran Muffins

My husband visited some of our dear friends for the weekend recently and returned home raving about the delicious bran muffins they had for breakfast one morning. I asked my friend for the recipe because if something is THAT good, I have to try it! These are moist and not too sweet, and the addition of slightly tart dried cranberries and the brightness of orange zest make them irresistible!

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour

1/4 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tb. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups All Bran Original Cereal (the twigs!!)

1 1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup dried cranberries

a healthy pinch of fresh orange zest

Instructions:

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cranberries in a small bowl. Set aside. Mix All Bran, milk, and oil in another bowl and let stand for about 5 minutes, or until cereal has absorbed most of the liquid. Stir together the dry and wet ingredients until well incorporated and add the pinch of orange zest. Stir until combined. Spoon batter into sprayed muffin tins and bake for about 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees.

The original recipe called for baking for 20 minutes. My muffins weren't done until about 30 minutes, so you'll have to take into consideration that oven temperatures vary.

Thanks to Kellie May for sharing the basic recipe with me! I hope you'll enjoy the additions ~

Yield: 12 muffins

Welcome to Taste!

A friend and I were talking the other day and I became inspired to try to create delicious vegan desserts and pastries. It seems that the term "vegan" has a lot of negative emotions attached to it. People assume that vegan food will be dry and tasteless, devoid of imagination. Well, as you will find in this blog, I will highlight new and interesting ways of creating "normal" desserts without the dairy.

The first recipe I'm sharing is for Easy Banana Bread. I found this in one of the cookbooks my mother gave me when I got married and it has proven to be my go-to recipe every time I have some overripe bananas.

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed in

1/2 C. cooking oil

1/2 C. white sugar (or brown, depending on which you prefer)

2 C. white flour (or a mix of white and wheat ~ again, depending on what you prefer)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

Chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Instructions:

Mash bananas in oil until nearly smooth. Add sugar to banana mixture and stir to combine well. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Add banana and stir well, making sure to incorporate all the flour.  Spoon batter evenly into a greased muffin tin, filling cup at least 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until beautifully golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!

Alternative: You can use this same recipe for a loaf of delicious bread. Decrease temperature to 300 and bake for one hour. 

Yield: 1 loaf of bread or 12 muffins