Cranberry Orange Muffins

My friend Lisa Joyner introduced me to this recipe, which comes originally from Cooking Light. I’ve tried it with both dried and fresh cranberries. While it’s OK with dried cranberries, it’s definitely best with fresh.

2 cups flour (I use at least 1 cup whole wheat flour)

1 cup sugar, divided (I use 1/2 cup instead)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

3/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup canola oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cranberries (8 ounces)

1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Set aside 1 tablespoon sugar. Combine flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture.
3. Combine rind, juice, oil, and egg in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in cranberries and walnuts. Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups (well, unless you like big muffins, like I do, in which case 12 is more like it).Sprinkle evenly with reserved sugar. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until done.