Even though we live in Australia and we do not celebrate Thanksgiving most of the recipes that are popping up my Instagram and Facebook feeds are full of pumpkin pie, turkey and cranberries.  I’m a little inspired by it all (not inspired enough to cook a turkey though 🙂 ) so I changed up my orange muffin recipe to include some cranberries.   I had some left over chocolate chips from the girls weekend baking spree and I love the combination of orange and chocolate so I threw them in too but feel free to leave them out if you are not a fan of the combination.
Before you start to measure everything out combine 1 cup of Dried Cranberries and 1/3 cup of fresh Orange Juice (making sure to zest the orange before juicing as you will need this later in the recipe) in a small saucepan and simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes. Â This step is important as it will soften the cranberries and make them juicy. Â Set them aside and allow to cool while you continue with the rest of the recipe.
- 2 cups of Plain Flour
- 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda (Bi-Carb)
- 1 teaspoon of Ground Ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon of Mixed Spice
- 100 grams of softened Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tablespoon of Orange Zest
- 2/3 cups of Sugar or 1/4 cup of Honey
- 1 teaspoon of Orange Extract (you can skip this if you do not like a strong orange flavour)
- 2 tablespoons of Coconut Oil
- 2/3 cup of Milk
Using an electric mixer beat butter, sugar and zest until creamy.  Add in the eggs (one at a time), orange extract and coconut oil.  Continue to beat until combined.  Sift the dry ingredients together and fold though the butter mixture with the milk.  Lastly, gently fold through the cranberries and chocolate chips. Making sure not to over mix – these are muffins not cupcakes so the batter should be slightly lumpy.  Scoop batter into a prepared muffin pan.  Bake in a 180 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.  Once cooled combine 1/2 teaspoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of boiling water.  Stir util butter is melted.  Add 1 cup of icing sugar and stir until smooth.  Dollop a large teaspoon on top of each muffin and dust with some cocoa powder for the extra hit of chocolate.
Enjoy 🙂
