Cranberry and Blueberry Mini-Muffins

 

Cranberry and Bluebery Mini-Muffins

I have to start off by saying, these are my absolute favorite  go-to muffins.

I don’t think I’ve ever run into a person that has not enjoyed these…and I’ve been making these for years so I have a pretty large sample size. They’re soft and delicious and practically melt in your mouth…and the crumb topping…there aren’t even words for it.

I usually make these with just blueberries and full-size, but it being winter and having made these for a baby shower, I made mini-muffins and included cranberries and you know what? They tasted just as good with cranberries…and the fact that they were mini just meant that I could eat twice as many of them.

Cranberry and Blueberry Mini-Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh cranberries

For the crumb topping
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder.
Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture.
Divide batter evenly into two mixing bowls.
Fold in blueberries into one bowl and cranberries into the other bowl.
Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping:
Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Source: Adapted from: AllRecipes

Winter Pear Salad

Winter Pear Salad

With all the heavy holiday baking and eating, sometimes you’re just in the mood for a light salad.

When Francis and I went to our friends’ Bree and Brenden’s  home last week for dinner and game night, Francis insisted on making his famous ‘deep dish’ pizza. Although I absolutely adore his pizza and can’t get enough of it, it’s not exactly what one would call ‘healthy’ or ‘light’ by any means. Making this salad as a starter made me feel a little better about eating such a carb-heavy dinner that night and was very refreshing (and a night of guitar-hero helped too!)

It was a breeze to throw together and with the pears and dried cranberries had a great winter flavor.

Winter Pear Salad

Ingredients

For the salad

3-4 cups of of torn spinach
2 pears, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1/2 cup grape tomatoes

For the dressing

2 Tbsp water
1.5 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.

Place slices of a couple pears in a large bowl.
Spoon 1 Tbsp dressing over pears. Toss to coat.
Add the remaining dressing, spinach, dried cranbrries or cherries and grape tomatoes. Toss to coat.

Source: The Best of Cooking Light

Photograph Courtesy of Breeana Thiede

Cranberry Orange Mini-Loaves

 

Cranberry Orange Loaves

As a part of my ‘baking extravaganza’ with my friend Bree  last week, we made these  Cranberry Orange mini-loaves. They were a perfect addition to my holiday packages and made a great treat to bring into Cardiology clinic. I love the cranberry and orange flavor combination and  you can add pecans to this bread if you like (we did not as my husband is allergic to nuts and I do not bring them into our home). Also, these were easy to bake while watching an 8-month old baby as they only took 10 minutes of prep time!

Cranberry Orange Mini-Loaves

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup orange juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Grease and flour three mini loaf pans.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Stir in orange zest and cranberries. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in orange juice.
Beat in flour mixture until just moistened. Pour into prepared pans.
Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the bread springs back when lightly touched. Let stand 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Wrap in plastic when completely cool.

Makes three mini-loaves.

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Photograph courtesy of: Breanna Thiede