Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

It’s fall in Wisconsin, the nation’s largest producer of cranberries, and I have been longing for anything with cranberries or pumpkin in it.  Sundays when I’m not working I like to make a special hot breakfast for my family.  This weekend I made a vegetable strata and found a recipe for cranberry pumpkin muffins that I tweaked to decrease the fat, cholesterol and sugar.  This recipe cost me less than $2 to make because I only had to buy cranberries and pumpkin.  You only need about half the can of pumpkin so I was able to make a double batch for no extra cost.

Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice ( if you don’t have this combine nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin (about half a can)

1/2 cup applesauce (I use unsweetened)

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl combine the first four ingredients. 

 In a mixing bowl, combine the oil and sugar; add the pumpkin and applesuace and mix well.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until moisted.  It makes a thicker looking batter.

Fold in the cranberries.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups 3/4s full.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.