Cran-apple Muffins (Cranberry Apple)

The other day I was thinking about how I need to use up some of the cranberries in my fridge. My mind immediately went to muffins. Any time I need to use up fruit I tend to think of muffins. Anyway, at first I wanted to make orange cranberry muffins but since I've already made orange cranberry bread, I wanted to do something different. Then I remembered the apples in my fridge..... so the idea of cranapple muffins was born. :) 

Just to experiment, I replaced the milk with apple juice and it worked very well, giving the muffin a lot of apple flavor. You could also do all milk, 1/2 milk and 1/2 apple juice, or even 1/2 milk and 1/2 orange juice. You can also replace the butter with oil, which is what most recipes call for. I try to avoid using up my oil though. And even though 1 cup of sugar sounds like a lot, it isn't that much. These are wonderful for breakfast since they're not over-the-top sweet.

Also, I apologize if my blog has been full of typos recently. I am lacking sleep. YAAWWWNNNNNN

I love my kids and can't wait to have more but......... waking up a few times every night starts to get exhausting after a while. Really, I only wake up maybe twice every night for about 15 minutes but I'm such a big baby that I need 8 hours uninterrupted or I'm worn out the entire day.

Totally worth it though.

Batter

Cranberries

Chop them up

Add apples and cranberries to the batter

Fill the muffin pan

Let cool and serve

Cranapple Muffins
Serving Size = 12 muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (could replace with oil)
• 1 small apple, peeled and chopped (I used the food processor)
• 1 cup of cranberries, chopped (used food processor)
• 1 cup apple juice (could replace with milk)

1. Preheat oven to 400F and grease a muffin pan.
2. In a mixer, mix together the eggs and sugar. Add the butter and apple juice and mix.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add to the wet ingredients until just combined.
4. Measure out 1 cup of cranberries and place into food processor and chop. Add to the batter. Peel 1 small apple, place into food processor and chop. Add to the batter. Mix until just combined.
5. Fill the muffin pan 3/4 of the way full and place in the oven. Cook 18 - 20 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Leave in the muffin pan for a few minutes (about 3 - 5 mins). Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.

Linking to: Masterpiece Monday, Mangia Mondays, Savvy Homemade Monday