Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Funny that my second entry in the world of Whole Wheat is also pumpkin. I guess I just can't help myself.... I do have another recipe waiting for the next round of whole wheat experimentation and it does not contain pumpkin at all.

So, I've been sick.... Which gives me loads of time to scour the internet for intriguing recipes and I have found a few. Some regular food and some baking. I'm a little nervous about this idea I had to blog about one food item each month. I am actually pretty bad at cooking. For some reason (mostly it has to do with following directions) I am a much better baker than cook. I leave that to M, but sometimes I try my hand at dinner. I mostly stick to soups and very simple pastas but every now and then I make something entirely too bland (like pumpkin curry - which should be the farthest from bland as possible). Anyways, hopefully one of these recipes I have found will make it's way to the baking blog and who knows it might be great!

I felt so useless around the house, I tried to muster up enough energy to make some food. It worked (but my sinuses are still a bother). I tried this recipe for Whole Wheat muffins graced with the presence of pumpkin, cranberries, and walnuts. I adapted it from the source a bit to suit what ingredients I had on hand and I think they turned out well. At least much better than the Scones.

While it is going to take some getting used to, baking and eating more whole wheat will be fun. And if fun is not the right word it will at least be healthy. I don't much like healthy.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Cranberries and Walnuts

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2 1/2 C whole wheat flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

1 C pumpkin puree 2 T canola oil 1/2 C sugar (plus more for the tops)

2 eggs 3/4 C buttermilk 1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C sweetened dried cranberries 1/2 C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375˚ F. Lightly grease a standard size 12 cup muffin tin. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, sugar, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. If you think the batter is a little dry add 2 T more buttermilk. (It is ok if there are bits of flour remaining because the worst thing you can do is overmix!). Fold in the cranberries and walnuts. Divide batter evenly between 12 muffin cups. Bake 20-23 minutes. Muffins are done when they spring back lightly to the touch or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. They will be very tall and hearty.

Original Recipe adapted from Pinch My Salt