Orange Cranberry Muffins

I've been MIA again recently; I've been extremely busy at work. And since work is... ah, kind of where I usually write my blog posts... that is the main reason. Of course I could have written them at home, like a normal person, but the last thing I wanted to do after spending 9 hours glued to a computer screen is come home and sit in front of a computer screen.

Also, we haven't had anything too exciting in the past week. It mostly consisted of turkey leftovers from a Thanksgiving-themed dinner party we had with a few friends last weekend. But enough excuses. Let's get cooking.

I didn't forget about my healthy eating goals for this year, and this recipe follows along that line. I've had a bag of cranberries in my freezer for a while now, and I've been dying to use them up. I found this recipe, and if definitely adhered to my newly healthy standards. They were really good, I loved that tart bite of cranberry contrasted well to the sweetness of the muffin. If you're not a fan of tart, I bet the dried sweetened cranberries be delicious as well!

Orange Cranberry Muffins

2 cups of whole wheat flour
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1 cup of orange juice
1 Tablespoon of honey
1 Tablespoon of canola oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 cup of fresh cranberries
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

Crumb topping:
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup of brown sugar
3 Tablespoons of cold butter, diced

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Place 18 liners in a standard cupcake pan (not a jumbo muffin tin).

Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder) in a large mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients (applesauce, orange juice, honey, oil, and vanilla).

Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and pour the wet ingredients in. Pour in the cranberries and chopped nuts, and mix until just moistened. Place about 2 Tablespoons of batter in each tin.

For the crumb topping, put the butter, brown sugar, and flour in the base of a food processor and pulse a few times, until the mixture resembles course sand. Sprinkle on top of the muffins. Bake for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Adapted from Post Punk Kitchen, original recipe here.