These easy muffins can be made ahead, as they keep well and stay moist. They are filled with all the wonderful flavors of Thanksgiving--apple, cranberries, and sweet spices--as well as some of the usual ingredients you'll find in kitchen sink muffins--carrots, nuts, and banana. I like to add coconut and walnuts to my muffins to give them even more texture. The muffins are sweet, but they really are muffins, not cupcakes. They also are reasonably nutritious with a small amount of oil in them and a good amount of oats. Try the muffins as part of your Thanksgiving meal or breakfast or just as a great snack with coffee, tea, or milk. The muffins also make a nice light meal with cheese and fresh fruit. Enjoy!
Kitchen Sink Thanksgiving Muffins -- Makes 18
1/3 cup of canola oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
1/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of buttermilk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 medium mashed banana
1 1/4 cup of flour
3/4 cup of quick oats
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1 cup of cored, chopped apple (a medium apple--no need to peel, if you don't want)
1 1/2 cups of washed cranberries (no need to chop)
1 cup of shredded carrots
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
1/2 cup of chopped or broken walnuts (or other nuts)
Sugar for sprinkling, optional
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and, for easy removal of the muffins, line 18 muffin wells with liners and spritz the liners with a little non-stick cooking spray. Alternatively, just spritz the wells with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together well the oil, eggs, sugars, buttermilk, vanilla, and mashed banana. Stir in the flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and spices until just mixed. Fold in the chopped apple, cranberries, carrots, coconut, and walnuts until evenly distributed through the batter. Divide the batter among the muffin wells. You can sprinkle a little sugar on top of the batter if you'd like for shine and a slightly crackly top to the muffins. Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes or until golden and a pick inserted in a muffin comes out with no wet batter attached. Let the muffins cool in their pans for 10 minutes before trying to remove them to cool completely.
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