Cranberry Apple Pumpkin Muffins

Friday, November 20, 2009

Cranberry Apple Pumpkin Muffins

After making these pumpkin cranberry muffins a couple weeks ago, Hubby said I didn’t need to ever try another muffin recipe again. He said they were the best I had ever made and he could eat them forever. Now, I’ve made quite a few different muffin recipes. And for anyone who knows me in real life, they know that I don’t just stop trying new recipes. It’s just not my thing. It annoys my family sometimes when they ask me to make something I’ve already made and I get all hesitant because I’ve already tried the recipe. Don’t get me wrong, some recipes I do repeat, but not so much for baked goods…

When I gave Hubby one of these muffins to try, he first thought it was a repeat of the pumpkin cranberry muffin. When I told him it was a new recipe, he seemed apprehensive. But I can say without any hesitation that these are much better (in my opinion) than the pumpkin ones of a few weeks ago. These muffins add a few extra flavors and textures. I love the different textures from the apples, cranberries, and nuts in the muffins. And they’re quite colorful!

I ended up using walnuts and pecans because that is what I had on hand. This is the type of recipe that you can adapt to fit your pantry. I used Granny Smith apples and next time I’ll be sure to chop them a bit smaller. I really enjoyed the bites with the fresh cranberries in them. The small punch of tartness is just great. As always, I doubled the recipe so that I would have muffins to freeze for us.

Cranberry Apple Pumpkin Muffins

Yield: ~20 muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour - I used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all purpose
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/2 can (or 7.5 oz) pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. applesauce
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 medium apple peeled, cored, and diced
1 c. fresh cranberries
1 c. chopped pecans - I used 1/2 pecans and 1/2 walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin pans.

In large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and whisk to combine.

In another large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, applesauce, milk, vanilla and stir to combine well.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just barely blended. Fold in apples, cranberries and pecans.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for ~30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Good Things Catered

Check out my week of Cranberries here.

Breakfast

3 comments »

13 Responses to “Pomegranate Cranberry Quinoa Salad”

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1

Smitten Sugar — January 20, 2011 at 5:14 pm

I just made Quinoa for the first time myself this week. Love the addition of pomegranate. I will have to try it out!
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2

Evan Thomas — January 20, 2011 at 5:27 pm

I love quinoa! Never tried it with these ingredients. Great recipe!
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3

Chelsea — January 20, 2011 at 5:31 pm

I love quinoa, especially in breakfast form! Never had it with pomegranates, yay!
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4

The Small Boston Kitchen — January 20, 2011 at 5:36 pm

Glad you liked! It’s one of my favorites. Also packages up really nicely for a healthy take-to-work lunch!
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5

Fun and Fearless in Beantown — January 20, 2011 at 6:49 pm

I adore quinoa because it is so healthy and so filling!
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6

ErinsFoodFiles — January 20, 2011 at 7:15 pm

Yum yum yum! What a yummy looking quinoa dish! I love quinoa, so if you’re looking to find more quinoa recipes, feel free to browse my blog. 🙂
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Sarah @ Semi-Sweet — January 20, 2011 at 8:26 pm

I love the versatility of quinoa – once you start cooking with it, it’s hard to stop . . . we think it makes a great breakfast, too! Warmed with milk, fruit & a little maple syrup or agave? Energy for the day!
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Nisrine|Dinners and Dreams — January 20, 2011 at 11:26 pm

I love a good quinoa recipe. This one sounds worth a try.
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Shannon — January 21, 2011 at 1:47 am

LOVE quinoa and poms 🙂 this looks like a delicious way to enjoy both ingredients!!
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Daisy — January 21, 2011 at 4:17 pm

don’t worry, I am officially the last one.
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Megan — January 21, 2011 at 10:43 pm

I’m glad you tried it! I love quinoa. I think it’s second to Israeli couscous in my book. And pomegranates — love them. This sounds delicious!
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kitchenmisfit — January 23, 2011 at 10:12 pm

I am surprised by the chicken stock! It seems like it should be a sweet dish. I love quinoa and my husband does too!
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Cheryl — January 24, 2011 at 7:22 pm

I have been reading about quinoa the “superfood” and how good it is for us. I bought some awhile back but hadn’t used it so I decided to try your recipe. OMG! I love it! I didn’t have pomegranate seeds and instead of almonds I used toasted pecans and also added orange zest. I will be using quinoa a lot now. Thanks!