Cranberry Orange Walnut Muffins

The other day I was in a shop and came across a pot of whole berry cranberry sauce with no preservatives added. "I bet this cranberry sauce would make some great muffins", I thought to myself. I brought the cranberry sauce home with me and the muffins turned out great; therefore, I am sharing the recipe in case you would like to try baking some.

Cranberry Orange Walnut Muffins

• 500 mL (2 cups)all purpose flour
• 120 mL (1/2 cup) white sugar
• 15 mL (1 Tbsp) baking powder
• Orange zest (One large or two small)
• 150 mL (2/3 cup) orange juice (Fresh from the oranges)
• 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
• 80 mL (1/3 cup) butter (melted)
• 120 mL (1/2 cup) walnuts (chopped)
• 1 - 468 g (16 oz) pot of whole berry cranberry sauce

Set the oven to 175°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4

Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder. I use the mixer to make sure I have the flour, sugar, and baking powder well shifted together. To the dry ingredients add the walnuts and orange zest and again let the mixer combine them. With the mixer on a low speed, add the eggs, melted butter, and orange juice and let mix just long enough to come together. Finally add the cranberry sauce just mixing long enough to bring the mixture together uniformly. When making a quick bread, remember to only mix the ingredients long enough to bring everything together; over mixing will result in a tough bread. If need be, stop the mixer and scrap down the sides of the bowl and check the bottom of the bowl to make sure no dry ingredients remain.

Spray an unlined muffin tin (yes, unlined; we are not making fairy cakes) with non-stick cooking oil. Fill each section level and place on a centre rack in the oven. Baking time will be from 30 to 45 minutes. When near the time, peek into the oven and check for brownness on the crowns removing once the crowns are to your liking. Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack so air can circulate freely. When the muffins are ready to remove from the tin, dump them out onto their crowns on a tea towel so the bottoms don't become soggy.

Filling The Muffin Tin

A Delicious Stack Of Fresh Baked Muffins

Looks Good Enough To Eat!

There you have it, homemade muffins. As Alton Brown would say, "Good eats". They were indeed good eats; I found the cranberry and orange offset each other nicely. Now put on the kettle and enjoy a nice hot cup of tea and one of your muffins, or even two.