Blog's Category: Holidays, Effortless, Healthy, Kid's Favorite, My Own Fast and Easy, My Staple Food
Intro
Kids are going to love these muffins! They are very pretty inside - bright orange with a red chunks of cranberries and awesome orange aroma. After all, you don't have to disclose all ingredients and tell them there is a pumpkin in there, right?
Look at the ingredient list - these muffins are as close to a healthy treat as muffins itself can possibly be - pumpkin, cranberries, olive oil. If you wish, you can even replace white sugar with brown one ;)
All the above is good, but, to me, the best thing about this recipe is its simplicity - just mix up an ingredients and voila. Slicing cranberries in half is a bit of time consuming process for inexperienced cook, but for me it took about 10 minutes. Or you can bring your kids or husband aboard for this particular work.
Ready? Let's start - it will take about 15 minutes of mixing and 30-40 minutes for baking.
What is it?
Batter for these muffins is simple and uses olive oil, eggs, canned pumpkin puree, white sugar, orange zest, fresh cranberries and regular flour.
Kids are going to love these muffins! They are very pretty inside - bright orange with a red chunks of cranberries and awesome orange aroma. After all, you don't have to disclose all ingredients and tell them there is a pumpkin in there, right?
Look at the ingredient list - these muffins are as close to a healthy treat as muffins itself can possibly be - pumpkin, cranberries, olive oil. If you wish, you can even replace white sugar with brown one ;)
All the above is good, but, to me, the best thing about this recipe is its simplicity - just mix up an ingredients and voila. Slicing cranberries in half is a bit of time consuming process for inexperienced cook, but for me it took about 10 minutes. Or you can bring your kids or husband aboard for this particular work.
Ready? Let's start - it will take about 15 minutes of mixing and 30-40 minutes for baking.
What is it?
Batter for these muffins is simple and uses olive oil, eggs, canned pumpkin puree, white sugar, orange zest, fresh cranberries and regular flour.
Taste Description
Despite the fact that the recipe calls for a decent amount of sugar, muffins are not overly sweet at all. To bring up a bit more sweetness I even needed to dust them with some powdered sugar. This nice sweetness balances equally with a sour chunks of cranberries. Taste of pumpkin practically non-existent, you could not even tell there is a pumpkin in it. Muffins have a fantastic orange flavor, perfectly pairing to cranberries.
Texture is moist, not too light nor heavy, with a juicy, bright and pleasantly sour cranberry bits.
Despite the fact that the recipe calls for a decent amount of sugar, muffins are not overly sweet at all. To bring up a bit more sweetness I even needed to dust them with some powdered sugar. This nice sweetness balances equally with a sour chunks of cranberries. Taste of pumpkin practically non-existent, you could not even tell there is a pumpkin in it. Muffins have a fantastic orange flavor, perfectly pairing to cranberries.
Texture is moist, not too light nor heavy, with a juicy, bright and pleasantly sour cranberry bits.
How to Serve
Serve when muffins are cooled down completely. Keep them for a two, three days on a counter. If you want powdered sugar to stay pretty and dry, do not cover your muffins with plastic wrap, leave them uncovered. In a fridge, they will keep longer, but because they are going to be in some sort of container or bag, powdered sugar will melt from moisture and your muffins are not going to be that pretty. Good news - taste wise they are still going to be delicious.
Note
- If you wish, replace white sugar with brown. It will make dough a bit heavier though.
- Add some cream cheese frosting on top to get cup cakes!
- Once, I was really lazy, and refused to cut cranberries in half. Not the same. For better result - take an extra 10 minutes to slice your berries :)
- I'm not huge fan of pumpkin pie spices, orange flavors are so much better to me, but if you are - go for it and add them to a batter, with or without orange zest.
Cranberry Pumpkin Orange Muffins
For about 20 medium muffins:
- 3 eggs
- 3 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 regular can of pumpkin puree
- 2 oranges, zest only
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pack of fresh cranberries (about 3 cups), halved
- 1 tbs powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375F and line up your muffin cups on a baking sheet.
- Stir together eggs and sugar until well combined.
- Add olive oil, pumpkin puree, zest, salt and vanilla. Stir.
- Add flour on top and add soda and baking powder right on top of flour. Mix soda and baking powder into a flour first to activate them, then mix flour into a wet ingredients mix just until well combined.
- Mix in cranberries. Fill muffin cups to 3/4 of volume. Bake for about 30-50 minutes, depending on a size of you muffins, until baked through.
- To cool down, transfer muffins from a baking sheet to a cooling rack. When they are completely cool, dust with a sugar powder, using small wire strainer.
- Enjoy!
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In Pictures
I'm saving on dish washing ;) and activate baking soda and baking powder in a flour right in the same bowl mixing them into a flour first and just then mixing flour into pumpkin mix.
I often give my dough a test by cooking small piece in a microwave, just to check sugar/salt balance. Keep in mind that texture is going to be off, too dry and rubbery, so it is strictly to give an idea about future taste. After oven. taste and texture will be much, much better :)
Sample from microwave - not too sweet at all.. rather under-sweetened, but it's fine with me - I love sweets, but hate when it's too sweet.
My silicon muffin cups are all different sizes. Those on a right are so big.. I'll fill them in half to get medium muffins. Those on a left are small and cutesy - just my size :)
Done! Smell's amazing! Orangy vanilla..
Transfer muffins on a cooling rack, preferably take them out from muffin cups.
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