Wholesome Seeded Cranberry Muffins

 

Every once in a while, I like to bake myself a batch of muffins.  Sometimes I will downsize the recipe I am using and other times I will keep the recipe as a full recipe, freezing the excess so that I have tasty muffins waiting in the freezer for me to indulge in when the craving hits!

This wholesome Seeded Cranberry Muffin recipe I am sharing with you today is one of my favorite muffin recipes. It comes from the pages of my Big Blue Binder and is a muffin I have been baking for many, many years.

Wholesome because of all the different seeds included in the mix as well as the dried fruit. I am a huge fan of seeds. They are full of nutrients and good for the digestion!

  

I am truly mad about muffins. I adore muffins, especially muffins that are not like cake.  When I eat a muffin, I don't want a piece of cake, or muffins that are like eating cake. I want them to be wholesome and somewhat nutritious. I also don't want them to be huge.  Some of those bakery and store baked muffins you can get are more like cake then they are a muffin and are the size of two or three regular muffins.

You wouldn't sit down and eat two or three muffins in a sitting, but when you eat one of those, you might just as well.

I want a muffin as it is supposed to be.  Slightly raised with rounded pebbly tops.  The insides filled with nice holes. Perfect for spreading with a tiny pat of butter. 

This delicious muffin recipe suits me to a "T" on many levels. It is wholesome and not overly sweet. It is loaded with goodness, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, poppyseeds, as well as dried fruit in the way of cranberries. 

You can feel good about eating one of these. I promise you!

  

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE WHOLESOME SEEDED CRANBERRY MUFFINS

I usually keep all of these things in my larder and freezer. That way I can whip up these delicious muffins anytime I want to indulge in one!

• 25g pumpkin seeds (1 ounce) plus extra for sprinkling (1/2 cup)
• 25g sunflower seeds (1 ounce) plus extra for sprinkling (1/2 cup)
• 225g plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• 115g demerara sugar (1/2 cup turbinado) plus extra for sprinkling
• 80g dried cranberries (generous 1/2 cup)
• 250ml plain bio yogurt (1 cup)
• 75ml sunflower oil (1/3 cup)
• 1 large free range egg, beaten

  

I used raw, untoasted and unsalted seeds for these muffins. I always keep them in the cupboard as I also put them into my homemade granola. 

Demerara sugar is a coarse type of granulated sugar which is in its most natural state.  Here in North America it is known as Turbinado sugar.  In the U.K. it is very common for people to use Demerara sugar in their coffee so it is also known as coffee sugar.

If you are not a fan of dried cranberries you can use any kind of dried berry or fruit. Cut the larger ones, such as apricots, prunes or dates, into smaller pieces. Dried blueberries are very nice in these.

Bio yogurt is not necessary. You can use any plain full fat yogurt.  I used bio as that is what I had. I love using Greek yogurt.

No sunflower oil?  No problem!  Substitute any mild flavored oil in it's place. Rapeseed, Grapeseed, light olive, etc.

  

HOW TO MAKE WHOLESOME SEEDED CRANBERRY MUFFINS

They are not hard really.  Making muffins is a doddle.  Just remember not to overmix the dough and you will have an excellent muffin with a beautiful texture.  Check out my hints and tips for the best muffins below!

Line a muffin tray with paper liners.  Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.

Pop the sunflower and pumpkin seeds onto a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 minutes.  Let cool.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, poppyseeds, cooled seeds and the cranberries in a large bowl.

Whisk together the oil, yogurt, and egg.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.  Pour in the wet ingredients and stir together just to combine.  Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups.  Sprinkle the tops of each with a few seeds and some demerara sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  Tip out to cool on a wire rack.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

  

HINTS AND TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST MUFFINS

Here are my hints and tips for making sure that your muffins turn out beautifully every time:

1. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. To prevent the mix from being overworked, first mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and mix the dry ingredients in another. Make a well in the dry ingredients, carefully pour in the wet ingredients, then stir the mix a couple of times to roughly combine. 

 2. Don't over mix your muffins. The most important rule of muffin making is to not over stir the mix. What you really want is to just moisten the ingredients. Do not stir or beat the batter until it is smooth and lump free. You want the final mix to be lumpy, and thick with a few floury streaks.

 3. Add your flavors last.  While spices should be added with all the other dry ingredients, additions like fruit and nuts should be added last. Give the batter one more light-handed stir once you've added them in just to combine.  

4. Line the pans. You can choose to either grease the muffin tin or line it with paper liners. If you choose to forgo the liners, make sure you grease the base and sides of the cups with oil spray or a little melted butter. If you're not going to eat the muffins for a while, do use paper liners as these will keep the muffins fresher for longer. 

 5. Don't overfill your pans. Aim to fill the cups ¾ full to get muffins with nice round tops and to prevent them from spilling out over the top of the cups.  Often if your tins are over filled the muffins will rise to the top and then collapse on themselves.

 6. For extra interest, add a flavorful sprinkle on top.  Once the muffin cups are all filled, you can choose to sprinkle the tops with more fruit, nuts or a crumble topping, even sanding sugar or cinnamon sugar, for even more taste and or crunch. As the muffins rise these toppings will cook into the tops of the muffin.  

7. Protect your baking pan.  If there isn't enough batter to fill all the cups, half fill the empty ones with water. This will help the muffins bake evenly and will help to protect your pan from buckling. 

8. Cooling them down. Once you remove the muffins from the oven, let them sit in their pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. This is especially important for muffins that aren't in a paper liner, as it will help them from falling apart. However, remove them after five minutes otherwise you risk them going soggy as they cool in the pan. 

9. Freeze extras for later. Muffins freeze beautifully, so if you can't enjoy them all on the day they're baked, wrap them in plastic wrap  tightly,  and put them in the freezer for later. They will keep for about 3 months and reheat wonderfully in the microwave for about 30 seconds on high from frozen. 

 

These are really delicious muffins loaded with plenty of texture and goodness. I loved all of the seeds and of course the dried cranberries. Altogether I would call this a delicious muffin. Not too sweet and full of goodness with a real wholesome quality that is quite moreish!

Are you as mad about muffins as I am? I just adore them.  If you are, perhaps you would also enjoy the following tasty options! Is there such a thing as a bad muffin?  I think not!

ORANGE MUFFINS - Buttery, moist and stuffed with plenty of orange flavor from the outside in.  These are winners all round! I like to stud mine with dried currants, but you may like raisins, or nuts, or blueberries, etc. You may even prefer them to be plain.  One thing is for sure, you will enjoy these moist and delicious muffins. Fresh orange flavors filled with an optional fruit and sweet glaze. You can't go wrong! 

CINNAMON ROLL MUFFINS - Prepare yourself to fall in love with this small batch muffin recipe with makes six gorgeously delicious muffins. They embody all the flavors of your favorite cinnamon rolls, except they are muffins, not a yeast bread.  I am of the school that cinnamon flavored anything is good. It doesn't really matter too much what it is and these are OMG good! 

Wholesome Seeded Cranberry Muffins

Yield: 10

Author: Marie Rayner

Quick to make and perfectly wholesome muffins to help get you set up for the day ahead.

Ingredients:

• 25g pumpkin seeds (1 ounce) plus extra for sprinkling (1/2 cup)
• 25g sunflower seeds (1 ounce) plus extra for sprinkling (1/2 cup)
• 225g plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• 115g demerara sugar (1/2 cup turbinado) plus extra for sprinkling
• 80g dried cranberries (generous 1/2 cup)
• 250ml plain bio yogurt (1 cup)
• 75ml sunflower oil (1/3 cup)
• 1 large free range egg, beaten

Instructions:

How to cook Wholesome Seeded Cranberry Muffins

1. Line a muffin tray with paper liners.  Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.
2. Pop the sunflower and pumpkin seeds onto a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 minutes.  Let cool.
3. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, poppyseeds, cooled seeds and the cranberries in a large bowl.
4. Whisk together the oil, yogurt, and egg.  Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture.  Pour in the wet ingredients and stir together just to combine.  Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups.  Sprinkle the tops of each with a few seeds and some demerara sugar.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  Tip out to cool on a wire rack.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

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