Cranberry-Orange Muffins

Since I posted here about trying some better for you muffins, I have been searching for a cranberry-orange variety. I have tried 4 different recipes, and I think I finally found one that is a winner.

I got my starting recipe from The Food Network and made some tweaks to make it slightly better for you. I am sure that these would be so much better without any whole wheat flour, but that would defeat my whole purpose.

Ingredients
1 cup dried cranberries (I used Ocean spray Crasins)
3/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla
1/2 cup softened butter
zest of 1 medium orange
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease muffin pans.
2. Put cranberries and orange juice in small sauce pan and bring to slow boil. Remove from heat and let cool.

3. Sift together dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
4. In large mixing bowl, cream butter, orange zest, and sugar.
5. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk to creamed mixture.
6. Slowly add dry ingrediants to wet.
7. Scrape down sides of the bowl and fold in cranberry mixture. Do not over mix.
6. Spoon into muffin pans and, if desired, sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake at 375 for  12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Yields 18 muffins

David loved these! They are denser that normal muffins and the texture is different, but overall, they are the best of the 4 recipes, and lasted the fewest days in the house. It's a nice fall treat. When I make them again, I think I will use applesauce instead of milk to see if that adds some more moisture.