There is a lot going on this cranberry muffin, but you won’t even notice that, because you’ll be too busy eating one after another. And as if cranberry, zucchini and carrot weren’t enough in this recipe—I went and added some coconut. I couldn’t help myself, I had about 1/2 cup of coconut sitting around, so I threw it in–aside from that, coconut is a great way to balance any tartness that cranberries may have.
And to keep the theme of healthy going I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. I’m sure I could have taken this recipe a step further and halved the 1 cup of oil with applesauce or Greek yogurt, but I didn’t.
In fact, if you are wondering if I’m going healthy—um, no–there’s too much sweet-fatty badness to embrace. This just so happens to be a recipe pumped with veggies and fruit. It’s also a highly adaptable recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Sono Baking Company Cookbook, so have fun and be adventurous if you want to swap out the aforementioned oil for applesauce or Greek Yogurt, beets for the zucchini and any other berries for the cranberries. And if you do, please come back and share with the rest of us, what you’ve done.
So along with all that I’ve mentioned, here’s another reason you are going to want to bookmark this recipe—this is a one bowl batter that can be whipped up with a whisk and wooden spoon—no mixer required!
Cranberry, Zuchinni & Carrot Muffins
The muffins can be made into a breakfast cake by using a bundt pan or loaf pan. Prepare the recipe as directed and bake until tester comes out clean when inserted into center of cake.
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup finely grated carrot (about 2 medium)
- 3/4 cup finely grated zuchinni (about 1 medium)
- 1 cup whole fresh or frozen cranberries
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups of whole wheat flour
Instructions
Preparation: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper or spray and cover wells with non-stick baking spray.
- Place sugar, canolia oil, eggs and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk until well blended. Add in carrot, zucchini, cranberries and whisk to blend. Next add in salt, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda and whisk to blend. Lastly, add flour and fold until blended (do not over mix).
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees F until tops are golden brown and tester inserted in the center is comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Use an offset spatula to remove muffins from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Yes please to one bowl and sneaking in some veggies for good measure!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
Im super impressed that you got as much rise and lift out of these with 2 c w.w. flour and not a ton of baking powder and all those heavy veggies/fruits – wow, that never happens to me when I try to bake with whole wheat flour 🙂 These look amazing! I love baking with zuke/carrots b/c they add so much moisture. Pinned!
Sarah says
Lovely recipe! Did you squeeze the excess water from the zucchini and carrots after grating. Or did you not worry about that? Thanks! Sare
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
I have never thought to add cranberries to zucchini breads or muffins before, but these sounds ah-may-zing! PLUS, I have a bag of cranberries sitting in my fridge that I have zero idea what to do with. These are happening! Love that they are whole wheat and make my eyeballs happy..so pretty!
Katri says
Looks delicious! Is your blog powered By WordPress?
Katrina @ WVS says
These are such a fun flavour! I have tons of frozen, shredded zucchini from the summer left and am totally trying this!
Sophia @ NY Foodgasm says
They sound AMAZING, I love how packed they are with veggies! YUM!
Sommer @ASpicyPerspective says
I love the addition of veggies! Yum!
Dana@chocolateandsunshine says
This recipe looks delicious!! Love your photos, too. Was in the BYW Class at Decor8 and saving all of your wonderful suggestions.
Happy New Year!
Dana
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
Love this way of eating veggies! These muffins are packed! Pinned!
Stephanie says
Wow! These look sooo tasty and I love how the colors just POP!
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe says
I love easy muffin recipes like this, especially ones that pack a healthy punch! I’m very intrigued by the idea of using beets here too!
Tieghan says
All the veggies! Whoa! That is one good looking muffin! 🙂 Love the colors!
Sukaina says
Naomi……I want that blue backdrop! It’s gorgeous!!!! What is it? Did you make it?
Golden says
Stunning.. Really nice photos.. was looking all day for something like this, I can’t wait to try it.
Helen @ Scrummy Lane says
Oooh … these look delicious! I’ve been wondering about trying to bake with zucchini lately … and I just love your photos, especially the first one. The colours and patterns are just beautiful.
Kim says
These look delish. On a side note, do you bake with the antique muffin tins in the picture? Or are those just there to look pretty? I have some and I wasn’t sure how they’d perform in the oven compared to my new pan?
Kevin @ Closet Cooking says
Love the use of zucchini and cranberry in these muffins!
marla says
Great flavor combo & gorgeous colors!
Gaby says
I would be snacking on these muffins all day long!
Gina C says
This recipe sounds delicious! And I love your muffin tins!
Layla @ Brunch Time Baker says
Love these muffins! Such a great twist on a classic!
Shari - Simply Shari's Gluten Free says
Ooo…can’t wait to give these a try using gluten free flour. Love the mix of veggies and fruit!
Allie | Baking a Moment says
So pretty! I love all the colors and flavors you have going on… and the vintage tins…
Naomi Robinson says
Hi Kim,
Yes, I baked them and they preform great.
Naomi Robinson says
Hi Sarah,
No, I did not squeeze the zucchini or carrots to dry them out before using–just grate and use.
Naomi Robinson says
Hi Sukaina – No I din’t make it. It’s actually black metal. I shot it with a cooler Kelvin setting to achieve that blue background look and then highlighted that further in post editing. Hope that’s helpful!
Sukaina says
Vey! And it looks lovely. One more question though- how did you manage to make the muffins look their normal color when it was shot on cooler kelvin ie. not blue?
Sarah says
Oh! Great! Thanks! I will give them a try this weekend!
Martha says
Just made a batch with some extra zucchini and it made more than 12 muffins! Extra mini muffins with mini chocolate chips, yay! Batter tasted good so far…thanks for sharing this!!