Sunday, January 17, 2016

Banana Cranberry Muffins



Every year around the holidays I like to stock up on fresh cranberries. They are easy to find and way cheaper when they are in season.
I just toss a couple extra bags into the freezer to use during the winter.


Going back to work after the holidays was HARD‼ I was so used to eating all day, my first day back to work I was starving by 10am. I had a couple ripe bananas so I figured I better make some muffins to take to work so I didn’t starve to death! Not like that was very likely, but who doesn’t love a muffin!

Anyway I tossed in some lovely ruby red cranberries and the muffins were perfect!


What you need,

1 cup + 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
¾ cup ripe banana, mashed
2 eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup cranberries, fresh or thawed and coarsely chopped
Coarse sugar for topping

Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl whisk together the banana and sugar until well combined. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Stir in the oil, sour cream and vanilla and mix until fully combined.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt and fold until just combined. Add the chopped cranberries and fold into the batter.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups. I got 12 muffins and had enough batter for about 3 more, so instead of using a whole other muffin tin I just lightly sprayed a 6 inch round cake tin with non-stick spray and put the remaining batter in that. It made the cutest little cake!

Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse sugar. Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
(The mini cake I cooked for a total of 28 minutes)

Remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely. Eat them now, or store in an airtight container for 2 days. I always wrap my muffins individually in saran wrap and then freeze them in a large zip lock bag. That way I can grab one out in the morning, toss it into my lunch and have a perfect muffin for a mid-morning snack!


These muffins were moist and tender and wonderful. The sweet banana combined with the tart cranberries was amazing.

The light sprinkle of coarse sugar on top really adds a nice texture; I love a crispy topping on a muffin.

So there you have it the perfect back to work, mid-morning snack muffin!

Enjoy!

Jen




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