It’s definitely time to bake muffins, if only to warm up the kitchen. I always leave the oven door open after I bake to use the leftover heat – after all, I already paid for it. I have cranberries in the freezer left from last holiday season. I need to use them up, even though I’m probably just going to put more bags in the freezer from this year’s crop. You only seem to find them in the store during the holiday season.
This recipe is originally from Coconut and Lime, I just lightened them up a bit so I can eat them for lunch or as an evening snack. They were prettier than expected, with the red cranberries poking through the dough. I opted to bake them in paper liners, because I thought the cranberries might stick to the pan. I have to say that my first bite of the muffin was a little disappointing, a trifle bitter. But then I ate a bit more and it was really a pleasantly unexpected combination of flavors, with the ginger giving the muffin a little bite in contrast to the tart cranberries.
Cranberry Ginger Muffins
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 Tablespoon canola oil
3 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (if you use frozen berries like I did, just rinse them under cold water, don’t defrost them)
1/3 cup chopped candied ginger, preferably uncrystallized
Preheat oven to 350. Line or grease and flour a 12 well muffin pan. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together the oatmeal, egg substitute, oil, applesauce, buttermilk, and sugar. Spoon flour into measuring cups. Add the flour, salt and baking soda to the liquid mix. Stir until thoroughly moistened. Fold in the cranberries and ginger chunks. If you are using frozen cranberries, make sure that frozen clumps of berries are broken up in the batter. Divide the batter evenly among 12 muffin cups. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a center muffin comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Makes 12 servings at about 2 grams of fat/serving.