Dried Cranberry-Walnut Muffins
Looks like Fall/Autumn has finally arrived in Toronto. Strong cold winds, falling leaves, and the beautiful red, orange and yellow hues on the tree leaves indicating that a new weather has commenced.
Frozen Moment #5 – Vivid blue sky against Autumn leaves
This summer seemed very short to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed and made use of the beautiful sunshine with whatever little gardening I was able to do in my backyard. Now, my lovely tomato plant is slowly dying, and raspberry plants will soon be asleep. Herb pots have all be brought indoors to adapt to the scanty indirect sunshine.
Bed of Fallen Leaves
This kind of weather leaves me craving for warm baked goods. Mornings are commenced with warm coffee or tea, and something baked fresh from my oven. Today I baked these delicious muffins using dried cranberries which I bought from Bulk barn and some walnuts that I had lying in the refrigerator from a long time.
Toasted and chopped Walnuts & dried Cranberries
I really enjoyed the raisin like dried cranberries with a hint of tartness bursting in my mouth with every bite.
Dried Cranberry-Walnut Muffins
Recipe adapted from: Cakes – 1,001 recipes from around the world
Ingredients:
All-Purpose flour – 2 cups
Baking powder – 2 tsp
Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
Nutmeg powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Dried Cranberries – 1 cup
Walnuts – 1/2 cup, toasted & chopped (you can also use any other nuts you like)
Buttermilk – 1 cup
Brown Sugar – 1/2 cup, firmly packed
Eggs – 2, large, at room temperature
Butter – 1/4 cup, melted
Warm, freshly baked Cranberry-Walnut muffins cooling on rack
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Butter and flour a 12-cup muffin pan, or line with aluminium foil or paper baking cups.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg and salt into a large bowl. Stir in cranberries and walnuts.
4. Beat buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, butter in medium bowl with an electric hand mixer at high speed.
5. Stir the egg mixture into dry ingredients. Spoon the batter into muffin cups filling each 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the muffin pan on rack.
My friends of Northern hemisphere, enjoy the fall weather and keep warm!
Luv,
Mona
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September 29th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I love the second picture….it captures the changing season perfectly!
September 29th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
beautiful beautiful pictures. I miss the fall colors here in texas.yes it is cranberry time again.. beautiful muffins.
September 30th, 2009 at 4:05 am
Simply beautiful pics Mona. We are awaiting for Spring season here. Muffins looks so good. 🙂
September 30th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Beautiful pictures!!! Muffins looks so good…
September 30th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Assalaam alaikum
Instead of cranberry can i use raisins.(kishmish)
May Allah bless u Amin.
Abra, you can use raisins instead of cranberries, however the taste of the muffins will be slightly different. Raisins are sweeter, whereas dried cranberries are slightly tart in taste. Use a little bit of lemon/orange zest too if you are substituting raisins for dried cranberries. ~Mona
September 30th, 2009 at 9:28 am
asalaamalaikum mona,
thanks for the great recipe! will surely give a try.
i also am trying to keep my plants alive best i can! do you find that your karipak plant survives the winter indoors?
thanks.
Ama, Do you own a Curryleaf plant? I do not own it. Actually I am still on the lookout if I could find one here in the stores, but no luck. Anyways, some of my friends have a curry leaf plant, and they bring it indoors in the fall/winter. The plant hibernates in the fall/winter, sheds all its leaves, but continue to water it lightly whenever dry. Once spring/summer commences, keep the plant outdoors again, it will revive. Taking care of tropical plants in colder areas requires lots of patience and is a painstaking task. ~Mona
September 30th, 2009 at 10:37 am
The blue sky and the colored leaves looks like a perfect Fall picture Mona..Fall and Spring are the two seasons I absolutely enjoy in here in Ontario. And I’m happy this year Summer temperatures were bearable.
Your cranberry walnut muffins are adorable. Next time I visit bulk barn, will pickup some dried cranberries and will luv to bake them.
Enjoy Fall..
Rina, I really enjoyed this year’s summer too. ~Mona
September 30th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Muffins looks amazing.
cranberries,cinnamon & walnuts how could you go wrong 😉
Beautiful pictures Mona…love the second picture 🙂
September 30th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Asak mona…thanks so much 4 leaving a comment…i missed a lot of stuff on ur blog…the ics r mind blowing…i had tried ur apollo fish…i made it in chicken with my recipe…but had used ur bagar procedure..it was great!!..i also tried ur butter chicken it was awesome..hey mona i made a disaster with dum pakht gosht…i did exactly the way u wrote..but the whole stuff got burnt in the oven in 10 mins..i guess there is sumthing wrong with oven settings…can u guide me in tht…thanks a million again..mindblowing pics…n yes i want to try raan recipe..but im scared to use the oven..please help
Wa-AlaiKum-AsSalaam Anjum, no worries, Inshallah I will mail you, do check your inbox. ~Mona
September 30th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Hi mona,i saw your picture of the steel measuring spoons in the pics above. May I know where did u buy them from?
Zee, those are stainless steel measuring cups easily available at any market. I bought it locally from Canadian Tire. You can also buy it from Target or Ikea. ~Mona
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:15 am
Mona, I just adore your fall pics in this post! We’re a little behind down here in Connecticut, but the weather is certainly getting chilly … feels wonderful using the hot oven in these temps, nai?! The muffins look scrumptious 🙂
October 5th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
is there a substitute for buttermilk
Thanks
Nasir, you can use plain yogurt or milk or sour cream instead.
You can even prepare Buttermilk at home. Add 3 tbsp lemon juice/vinegar to 1 cup milk. Let stand 15 minutes. Buttermilk is ready to use. ~Mona
October 7th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
I love cranberries and I love walnuts. Thanks for a great recipe!