Recipe Redo: Cranberry Orange Muffins with Streusel Topping

Around this time last year I posted a recipe for Cranberry Orange Bread and just the other day I had two of the essential ingredients leftover from Thanksgiving: cranberries and oranges! I remember the bread being truly moist and the marriage between cranberries and orange produced a muffin with a nice balance of sweetness and tartness. I was excited to revert back to that recipe and make some scrumptious muffins! But to my dismay that old recipe which may or may not still be on this blog (it is *blushes*) wasn't written properly. There seemed to be ingredients missing and misguided steps; for example there wasn't flour or sugar listed in the ingredients for the streusel topping! I felt pretty darn silly about that recipe and prayed that no one baked that bread and kind of overlooked the whole post. But I still really wanted to bake those muffins! So I began rewriting the recipe in hopes of fixing all it's boo-boos. 

Upon rewriting the new recipe I made a couple of modifications and used an egg and goat milk; but if I can remember correctly both of those ingredients can be successfully swapped with applesauce and non-dairy milk. Even though I was embarrassed by that past recipe, I don't regret posting it because it shows me that I'm still learning and that indeed is humbling! Having a blog has taught me that this is my own journey, and that it's okay to make mistakes and fix 'em. My mantra out of this experience is simply: I am a human being and it's okay to make mistakes; even in the things I'm passionate about. For the longest time I've been especially hard on myself with my cooking and wanting to everything to be perfect before I shared it with anyone else; but quite honestly perfect is boring and 9 out of 10 times my screw ups have left me with burning determination to whip up something better. As simple as this recipe may be I think it's better than the first bread I made. Maybe yesterday I'll want to improve it? Only time will tell my dears... In the meantime do me a favor and bake these muffins for yourself and let me know what you think! :)

Cranberry Orange Muffins with Streusel Topping

makes 16 medium sized muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup natural cane sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 medium oranges, zested and juiced (reserve half of zest for the streusel topping)

½ cup milk*

½ cup canola oil

1 large egg, room temperature*

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped

Streusel topping:

2 tablespoons butter or vegan shortening

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

Pinch of salt

Optional: ½ cup raw pecans, chopped                                                              

Notes: I used goat milk for this recipe but like I mentioned above any milk will do, and about ¼ cup applesauce will replace one large egg. Also if you prefer a sweeter more dessert like muffin add 1/4 cup more sugar to the batter.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with parchment liners. 

Streusel: In a small bowl mix with hands or a fork the shortening, flour, brown sugar, spices and salt until thoroughly combined. Add in the pecans, mix and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl beat together orange zest and juice, milk and eggs then mix in the canola oil and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients mixing until just moistened. Fold in the cranberries. Fill each muffin tin with 3 tablespoons of batter and sprinkle batter with about a tablespoon of streusel. Bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned on top or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

xo Jessica

chocolate chip espresso muffins (vegan + whole grain)

I am first going to start this off by saying, what the heck is going on in New Jersey? We have been getting snowstorms pretty much every week now! Not to say I hate the snow (I don’t love it either) but these extreme weather conditions are driving me nuts. I think what drives me the nuttiness is being forced to clean the mountains of snow off my car and then having to repeat the same process within the next couple of days. Another thing that has been particularly bothersome is having a pile of snow from the roof of my car sliding onto the front of it and blocking my vision. This happened to me twice this week! The lesson I learned from these two incidents is to always clean the roof of your car because even when it looks like it’ll stay put, it won’t and can be embarrassing. What I do like about the snow is the way it looks the morning after a storm. I think the trees always look so majestic and beautiful which almost makes cleaning my car a little more pleasant. Almoooost. I guess the last time I genuinely loved the snow was when I was a little kid, getting snow days and my desire to want to play in the snow for hours. I guess grownups (snow lovers excluded) must lose their appreciation for the snow when they have bigger responsibilities like driving, ensuring they have enough groceries and going to work. I wish I could appreciate it more but in the mean time I will spend most of my days anticipating springs arrival, thank you very much! 

On a much more exciting note, today I had not only a hankering for some chocolate but an even bigger one for baking. The only problem was that I couldn't decide on what I wanted to bake. Cookies? Cake? Brownies? So, I asked Michael what I should bake and he suggested muffins! How brilliant is he? In my humble opinion homemade muffins qualify as decadent but are still a wholesome little treat. I made an adaption of Sara Forte’s “brown butter espresso chip muffins” which I honestly wish I could eat as is! But instead of brushing the recipe to the side, I swapped the eggs for flax meal, used coconut oil and some vegan butter for the streusel.

Chocolate Chip Espresso Muffins:

makes 8-10 muffins

I found these muffins to be wonderfully decadent without being overly sweet, which is exactly my ideal for a muffin. By using three different flours you get a nice variety textures and flavors. The almond meal lends a nuttiness that works well with the earthiness of the espresso and I personally love the surprise pieces of chocolate chips that are enhanced by the subtle hints of cinnamon. Finally the oat streusel topping gives these muffins their decadency due to its perfect balance of sweet and saltiness. Eat these with tea or if you’re a rebel like me freshly brewed espresso. Enjoy!

• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 cup oat flour (just simply grind old fashioned oats into a food processor)
• 1 cup almond meal or flour
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon espresso or finely ground coffee
• 1/3 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons flax meal + 1/4 cup water 
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

streusel topping: 

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 tbsp. vegan butter 
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar 
• 1/4 tsp. each of cinnamon and cardamon 
• pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin tins or fill with muffin liners. In medium sized bowl mix flax meal with water and allow to thicken. Whisk flax eggs, applesauce, vanilla and coconut oil together. In a large mixing bowl, stir the brown sugar, whole wheat pastry flour, oat flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon and espresso together to combine. Add the wet ingredients to dry and fold in the chocolate chips, stirring gently without over mixing. In small bowl, combine oats, butter, sugar and salt. Press it together with fingers to incorporate. Scoop the batter into the tins til about 3/4 full. Sprinkle each muffin with a bit of streusel. Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes or until center is cooked through. Remove to cool. 

Scrumdiliumcious Banana Muffins

I’m pretty sure banana bread is one of those things everyone and their mother have baked. It’s so easy to throw together and is somewhat healthy making it perfect for any occasion and season. I personally believe banana bread is one of those things that taste better as the days go by, almost like chili. Almost. Somehow the flavors seem to be richer and the texture is much moister. I love it! I tried to bake a new recipe that I found here, but of course stuck to some of my old recipes roots and just added Jessica’s coconut streusel to the top of each muffin which came out amazing.

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
¾ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons molasses
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup unsweetened organic applesauce
4 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla

Coconut Streusel:
2/3 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
2 teaspoons unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used goat’s milk butter, although it can easily be substituted with solidified coconut butter!)

*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with papers or spray with nonstick spray. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas really well. Add the maple syrup, applesauce, coconut oil, and molasses, and whisk briskly to incorporate. Sift in the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to mix until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin pan. To make the Streusel: Combine all the streusel ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands until butter is easily dispersed. You want the entire mixture to be moistened. Evenly sprinkle on top of each banana muffin and bake for 25-30 minutes. (This can easily be baked into a loaf pan and will take about 45-50 minutes)The top should be lightly browned and a toothpick inserted through the center of a muffin should come out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool before transferring onto cooling rack.