Orange Cranberries Rolled Oats Ricotta Muffins

This post is pretty simple and entirely silly. Read at your own risk. If you wish for more substantive writing refer to my previous post Sfinge – A Moroccan Vegan Doughnut.

I am obsessed with anything rolled oats and my favorite ingredient around Thanksgiving is cranberries. Since Nordstrom no longer carries my favorite orange cranberry muffins, I decided to bake my own. I found these gorgeous, plump organic cranberries couple weeks ago but had to freeze them since we were heading out of town. They are still such beauties even frozen.
This year Sagie, a sophomore in college, is coming home on a bus from UMASS Amherst through Grand Central Station, with three of his English exchange student buddies, one is his roommate. A chance for them to spend and experience the Holidays American style and to tour DC. Am so excited to spoil them with plenty of food whenever I get a chance, when they don't run off to catch up with Sagie's high school friends.
While I realize the Beckhams do not represent the entire United Kingdom I found this mightily amusing! I remember last year or so, but do not remember quite when, David Beckham playing for the Galaxy, I believe he still is, and the Beckhams living in LA, his wife, Victoria, was interviewed on TV just after Thanksgiving, and to paraphrase it, she said 'can you believe it they stuff the turkey's bum?!'. Now I wonder what Sagie's Rnglish fellows would say?! I know they would be fine! :)
On a serious note on this recipe, please read cook's tips at bottom before proceeding to bake these muffins. Loosely adapted from a yummly recipe.

Orange Cranberries Rolled Oats Ricotta Muffins
Makes Dozen large and dozen mini muffins


Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4-1 cup rolled oats
Zest of 2 clementines
1 cup orange/clementine juice (juice from zested 2 clementines above plus orange juice for a total of a cup of juice)
1/4 cup whole, skim or non fat milk
1 cup skim ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/4-1/2 cup Sugar in the Raw1/4 cup canola oil

3/4-1 cup halved fresh or frozen cranberries
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F oven. Line both a large and mini muffins trays, dozen muffins each, with paper muffin cups.
Mix well all the dry ingredients in a bowl except the last two: cranberries and 1 tablespoon of flour. In a separate bowl mix well the clementine zest and all the wet ingredients except the last two: cranberries and 1 tablespoon of flour. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, fold 3-4 times with a rubber spatula, it won't be mixed well at this stage. Into the halved cranberries bowl toss 1 tablespoon of flour mix lightly and quickly and add to the batter. Fold the batter few more times until lumpy. Do not over mix.

Tablespoon the batter into the large muffin paper cups and teaspoon the batter into the mini muffin tins. Bake the large muffins for 20-25 minutes and the mini muffins for 10-15 minutes.

Cook's Notes:
-I add flour to the cranberries so they won't sink to the bottom and will be distributed evenly throughout the muffins.
-I like tartness so I used 1 cup cranberries. This recipe will be great with 3/4 cups as well.
-With only 1/2 cup honey the muffins will be subtly, even faintly sweet. I would definitely add 1/4-1/2 cups Sugar in the Raw according to taste.
-I wished for more of an oaty/nutty taste from the oats so I added 1 cup. You can reduce it to 3/4 cups.
-I usually like to oil the muffin tins lightly and bake the muffins directly inside the tins but it's easier to bake them and giveaway as gifts if they are baked in muffin paper cups. I find they dry out at the bottom more if baked in paper cups so I placed the muffin tray on a large cookie sheet to see if the paper cup muffins will bake better that way. The cookie sheet at the bottom also helps with catching overflowing dough as it rises. This method helped with keeping the muffin bottom more moist.

Related Thanksgiving posts: Last minute Thanksgiving... I wrote in 2009 and you betcha' I am going to pre order those two pies at the Pie Gourmet just to be on the safe side that they won't run out. Honey, Agave, Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Rolls with Flax and Sesame seeds: My Tale of Becoming an American! I wrote a year ago around this month.

*More photos will be added later

29 comments:

  1. That's okay. I just love looking at this picture.

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  2. Lovely cranberries! Those muffins sound promising...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  3. Beautiful and I can't wait to see them in the muffins!

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  4. I would love these fresh from the oven. The aroma will definitely wake me up along with my cup of joe.

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  5. Good for you recreating your favorite Nordstrom muffins - they look deliciously yummy and the frosted cranberries make a beautiful photograph!

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  6. Love these gorgeous muffins. You're so good to Sagie and his friends. They get to eat all of your delicious food:)

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  7. LOL LOL :D

    orange and cranberry combo is as one of my faves as orange and chocolate! these look gorgeous! and yes spoil the kids:D

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  8. I love orange and cranberry together...just did a compound butter today with both but they're often in my cranberry sauce and my muffins too. These look perfect for fall.

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  9. wow shulie, these might be one of the prettiest muffins i've seen. love how the cranberries are peaking out and the flavors of the orange i'm sure complements it so well! ps - what happened to your your apple cake post?

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  10. TY Angela, Rosa, Nisrine. These are super healthy. I even made a batch only w/honey barely sweetened! It's good for J & I but not if you are making it for kids. Add the Sugar in the Raw in addition for kids. TY Ken, yep also with your afternoon tea:) Surprisingly fluffy considering all the oats/The trick is the ricotta!! Thx Priscilla, I am making few different variations of orange cranberries muffins this winter but this is off to a good start with a healthy version. Maybe it is a blessing in disguise Nordstrom phased theirs out. I suspect they were not that healthy! :) Ahahha Lora and Soma, I sure do. I just lit up when I do that for them and they are so appreciative even at this age. It's nice!! TY Barb you are definitely right we were thinking alike today with the cranberry orange combo, I guess it is the season! TY so much Junia, one thing led to another and it's end of October. I am bummed I didn't get around to post that. Even this post is way overdue with my last being 10 days ago:(. ....but squash love coming up....:)

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  11. Gorgeous, yet again, Miss Shulie! I love this recipe and will be making it as soon as humanly possible!! Delish!

    xoxo
    Heather

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  12. Mmmm.. those cranberries are just as plump and juicy, though frozen! I could eat oats like in cups. Literally :D

    That reference to Beckhams surely cracked me up :D

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  13. You make everything look so incredibly delicious and beautiful through your photography! I want one now!

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  14. Holy yum! Look at that gorgeous bowl of cranberries! Lovely clicks. Muffins look absolutely scrumptious! Love the pairing of flavors!

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  15. the combo is looking stunning and too appetizing. I cant wait to try this version of urs in the holiday season.... !

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  16. lots of folks look forward to fall for the pumpkin . . . and i do too but cranberries? yeah, at the top of my list for fall winter!!

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  17. I am so in love with this combination and cannot wait for really seasonal citrus to begin popping up at my farmer's market...like tangerines. For some reason, I can't get enough of the tart cranberries with the tangy, floral tangerines and put them in my muffins, poundcakes and cookies. Thanks for the recipe!

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  18. Shulie, this is gorgeous and I really want to bake these for breakfast! I have all the ingredients so I might! Thanks for sharing yet another gorgeous recipe!

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  19. Hmm, I never thought about stuffing a Turkey quite like that! lol

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  20. Holy yum! These look like a perfect fall breakfast with hot coffee...yum!

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  21. These are definitely my kind of muffins! Hope you have lots of room in your freezer for these since I think with 4 college age boys in your house, you are going to be cooking up a storm!!!

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  22. MY OH MY i am love with how deliciously yummy these look!

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  23. These demand to be tried. They are perfectly seasonal and I know my family would enjoy them. This is my first visit to your blog, so I took some time to browse through your earlier entries. I'm so glad I did that. I love the food and recipes you share with your readers and I'll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  24. It's rare that I'll crave for muffins, but you definitely made me crave for them! I love orange and cranberries together. They make a perfect match ;-). Sagie's friends are so LUCKY!

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  25. Love your photos, Shulie! Muffins look great :)

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  26. LOVE cranberry muffins and these are definitely different than my recipe. I also love oats and they do pair beautifully with cranberries. Gorgeous pics! And have fun feeding the boys!

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  27. What delicious cranberry muffins - the twist of ricotta is certainly a great change :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru
    Latest: Traditional Lemon Meringue Tart

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