1 March, 2014

Orange Cranberry Cupcakes

Comments : 8 Posted in : Dessert on March 1, 2014 by : Cook Plate Fork Tags: Baking, Bread, Cranberry Muffins, Cranberry sauce, cup orange juice, Dried cranberry, Measuring cup, Muffin, Orange, Orange Cranberry, orange extract, orange juice, orange peel, the Orange Peel

The orange peel and the pith both contain a unique flavonoid called hesperidin which has shown to reduce bad LDL cholesterol as well as helps to lower triglycerides or fat in the blood.

Hesperidin also helps improve blood vessel function, lowers blood pressure and helps to reduce inflammation in the body.

This Orange Cranberry Muffin recipe is a wonderful bread recipe that uses the whole orange, not just the zest or orange extract.

Here is what you will need:

2 small oranges

1 cup orange juice

2 eggs, large

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

3 cups flour

1 cup cranberries, chopped fresh

The ingredients are for baking the batter in a 9 X 9 inch baking pan. To make muffins or cupcakes cut each ingredient in half (makes 12 muffins).

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Wash oranges and cut into pieces. Remove seeds. Place orange pieces and orange juice into food processor.

Process until oranges are finely chopped. Add eggs and butter; process for 3 seconds until combined. You could replace the butter with 1 cup coconut oil.

Sift the remaining 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Next pour processed orange and juice into the center of the dry ingredients, add cranberries; stir until moistened. Do not over mix.

As was stated at the on set, you can make muffins by cutting the ingredients in half or use the recipe as is and pour the batter into a parchment lined 9 x 9 baking pan.

Place in oven and bake for 30 to 45 minutes (for bread) or 15 to 20 minutes (for muffins) until a wooden pick comes out clean when inserted. Cool in pan 10 minutes remove to wire rack to cool completely.