Don't you just love the Ocean Spray cranberry commercials? I do, and when I visited Walt Disney World's Food and Wine Festival in 2011, there was this spectacular display, shown in the picture above, of a live version of a cranberry commercial! It was the first time I saw this in real life and was pretty amazed. It was hard not to pass the display, as the sun made the cranberries almost glisten like red rubies in a huge box! That experience started me thinking of all the ways that we can use cranberries, and other things that compliment them. Other than drinking various mixes of cranberry juices, we are used to cranberry overload during the holidays. So, with the holiday seasons upon us, it was not very surprising today, when I visited the farmers market, that I saw bags of fresh Ocean Spray cranberries for a dollar. (Needless to say I bought a couple bags)
More than likely, like most people, I am going to make my own cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving this year. So I washed the cranberries, dried them and froze them so that I can use them in the next week and a half or so. Then I took the rest and used them in some muffins for breakfast for my husband (he likes muffins). From what I have read, using fresh cranberries are more effective in protecting our cardio-vascular system and they are full of antioxidants! It is also high in Vitamin C, and so I am sure adding orange juice to the recipe just makes it that much more full of Vitamin C.
I decided that I would make vegan Cranberry and Orange Muffins for my husband. You may not have to go completely overboard like I did to make it vegan, but trust me, they taste really good and are much healthier than using eggs, butter and milk. Below I describe the method I used. But before I share my recipe, here is just a list of other ingredients that cranberries pair well with.
Cranberries go well with Cinnamon, Ginger, Honey, Lemon Juice, Maple Syrup, Orange, Sugar, Vanilla and Walnuts.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
2 cups of flour, sifted (all purpose works well)
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups of chopped cranberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg (for vegan use Ener-G egg replacement. Follow box description)
1 fresh squeezed orange (yes, without the seeds)
1/2 cup of pineapple juice
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
approx 2 tsp orange rind
Sugar to sprinkle on muffins before baking (optional)
Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. Using two bowls, measure out all ingredients, dividing them between wet and dry. You should add the walnuts and the cranberries to the dry ingredients. Make sure to mix wet ingredients well. If you are using the egg replacement, mix it separately until frothy and then add to wet ingredients.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and using a spoon fold gently until all dry ingredients are incorporated.
4. Line your muffin tins with the individual cupcake liners, or you can use your cupcake tins for smaller portions. I usually pray the inside of the liners lightly.
5. Using an ice cream scoop (depends on the size muffins you want and tin size), portion out equal amounts into each. At this point you would sprinkle with sugar if you want.
6. Place in oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top of the muffins bounce back when you touch the top.
7. Place them on a cooling rack and cool properly before storing. I like to store mine on a glass plate under a glass dome cover, so we can just grab it and go. However you can store them in plastic containers with covers if need be.
8. Take a bite and enjoy!
Let me know how this recipe worked for you.
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