Tried Tested & True Two: Cranberry Orange Muffins Get a Makeover
I L-O-V-E muffins. A kitchen with muffins baking is a happy kitchen...at least to me. Cranberry orange is one of my favorite ones to make, and of course--eat. They were a natural choice for me to mess around with and makeover to submit to Equal Opportunity Kitchen's Tried Tested and True Two.
TT&T2 is a bit different than the first TT&T. This time, the challenge is to take a family favorite and give it a makeover. Make it better for you, but still taste great.
So what changes did I make?
1) I cut out both fats--1/4 cup of oil and 1/4 cup butter, and replaced them with 6 oz of nonfat plain yogurt.
2) There are two cups of flour in these muffins, and I replaced one of them with white whole wheat flour.
3) Next came the sugar. One cup became 3/4 cup, and as usual, it's organic cane sugar.
4) I also chose a marmalade that had no high fructose corn syrup.
5) I added walnuts, which are good for you, too.
Cranberry Orange Muffins
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
6 oz plain nonfat yogurt
3/4 cup low fat milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp orange extract
1/4 cup orange marmalade
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 Preheat oven to 350°.
2 Sift together dry ingredients, and make a well in the center.
3 Add eggs, yogurt, milk, and vanilla & orange extracts.
4 Mix by hand until just blended.
5 Fold in marmalade, cranberries and walnuts.
6 Spoon into lined or greased 12 muffin pan.
7 Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool for a few minutes in pan, then turn out on to cooling rack.
Makes 12 muffins
Look at those gorgeous bottoms! Print me!
So make sure you get your makeover tried and true recipes ready and send them off to Giz and Psychgrad at Equal Opportunity Kitchen. It's sure to be an amazing, not to mention good for you roundup! You've got until Monday, July 21st at midnight EST. And there are prizes! How can you say no to that?
Elle | Print Article | Share Article | Email Article | 46 Comments tagged cooking, cranberry orange, food blog event, muffins, new england, recipe
Reader Comments (46)
Wow, Elle! A delicious and healthy recipe. I love the yogurt idea. I'm going to have to try that sometime soon :)
absolutely gorgeous bottoms! hehehe
Beautiful muffins! I love how you replaced the fat with yogurt!
Healthy(ier) muffins will always find a place in my cookbook. Great combination of flavors :)
You're right, those are beautiful. I really like the golden color. Way to improve on a real favorite. Tell people cranberries are cleansing too... it's an added bonus.
You've really outdone yourself Elle! This is excellent. I agree that a kitchen with muffins baking is a happy kitchen. It doesn't hurt that it makes the house smell wonderfully.
I also like the recipe card. What program do you use to create that? Tastebook?
Thank you for the great submission to Tried, Tested and True!
I too LOOOOOOVE muffins :0) And I love your changes to the recipe!!
I love walnuts in my muffins! These sound great!
Healthy, I like it! I can't stop making muffins and my kitchen is hot! It's still happy, though.
You're going to need an R rating on this blog with those gorgeous bottoms!
Love, love, LOVE the changes to the recipe! I've been trying to do that with recipes too and blogs have been so helpful with that because I'm not very creative. I've found cutting back on sugar in most recipes actually makes it taste better. Thank you for this one Elle. :o)
Cranberry-Orange muffins were my all-time favorite when I was a kid. And now I've got a hankering for one. They look wonderful!
Genius Elle - the theme that I'm loving and also indicated in comments is that people do realize the importance of healthier eating and you've shown that it's so doable. Congrats - definitely a sign of a cook/baker that understands ingredients. Love your submission to TTT2. Good luck and thank you for helping us bring the importance of signing organ donor cards to the forefront.
Om nom nom nom! I think I could go through the whole batch for breakfast. Seriously.
Yummo-they are gorgeous Elle! Love those butts or bottoms..he-he.
The changes you made are great - I try to keep the calories and fat under control as much as possible.
Thanks for the healthy changes
Cheers
Cathy
www.wheresmydamnanswer.com
your muffins look perfect! I just want to eat them hot right out of the oven!
I love cranberry orange muffins and yours look wonderful. I love using yogurt as a fat replacement.
I think muffins should be healthier anyway. Most muffins at the bakery and even muffin recipes are really just cake disguised as muffins! Great job on making them over...
Mmmmm.... muffin bottoms. Love it.
I love the cranberry orange combo, and healthy muffins are great in my book!
Elle,
I'm so glad you're such a muffin person...just like me. And yes, replacing some of the fat with yogurt is such a great idea...if you haven't already, you should try Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Yogurt Cake. I think it's on my blog. It's good stuff. Great post!
Another lovely creation from you. These look fantastic. You did a great job playing with the ingredients. Yum!
I love the bottoms of the muffins! :-D
A true treat it is! Lovely bottoms:-) Amazing blog...
Oh wow...these look incredible, Elle! I wish I could get cranberries round here.
people sure are loving your bottoms! i prefer a muffin top (but not what people are now calling what hangs over the waist of one's pants. no, not a fan of that...). :)
i'm glad your alterations worked out so well--i think you made some good choices there. i'm a bit of a muffin aficionado myself, and cranberry-orange is definitely one of my top five. very nice!
They look gorgeous and sound delicious - maybe even more than the original. For all that I love butter and chocolate I do enjoy fiddling round with recipes to make them healthier. Even though it would really be healthier not to eat the muffin at all, that's no fun is it! :D
YUM YUM YUM!
I will have to give these a try becaus I agree with you on the happy kitchen and muffins.
I may try some raspberry lime ones this week, plus I have tons of blueberries, so I am thinking a lemon blueberry batch may be in line too.
You made such healthy changes! Those muffins look fabulous!
Those sound so yummy. I was just looking at a orange bread recipe ... maybe I'll try your muffins.
They are a perfect golden color. I went to a restaurant that had these muffins and they were so good. These little babies will be put on my list of things to make. Thanks!
what great changes!
Yummy yummy, I love muffins!
These muffins look and sound good! I like the change that you made.
Wow, good job Elle! I love doing that to recipes...yours turned out beautifully :)
Thank you for this healthy version! I'm always on the look-out for healthier alternatives too, Mrs Big Bossman likes to eat healthy :-).
Anyway, when you start reading what's in mass-produced food it makes you want to run back to your kitchen and start making your own. Just like you did!
And yes, those are gorgeous bottoms! haha
I think this is a VERY GOOD practice! It really helps make these sinful baked goods a lot more health friendly! Good job! And they still turned out lovely, don't they?
What a perfect looking muffin!! XOXO
I'm sooooo with you: I love muffins too. I can't get enough blueberry muffins. I must make blueberry something every week. I also love Morning Glory muffins if they're done right. Your muffins look amazing--I will have to try these and give my blueberries a vacation.
Ooh... I am so going to try these! Great entry!
I have to say, you guys are the best readers ever. You say the nicest things! Thanks so much to everyone!
Summer has been so busy for me, but I'm trying to keep up, slowly making my way through my reader every few days and catching up with you guys.
Thanks again. :)
These look so cute and very yummy!
You have great timing: My daughter and I were just talking about making muffins, and I wanted to figure out how to make a healthier, less fatty, but still moist muffin. Thanks for sharing your strategy!
Hey Elle, love the cranberry orange combination! I am trying to keep up too, I feel guilty if I am inside at my computer instead of outside in this New England summer!
What an incredible blog. Will keep you a record on my forum
Thank you so much, guys! :)
Wow--These do look delicious, and so much healthier than the original!